Behind the Mask
by The Equestrian Writer
Summary: The Rosewood police has successfully infiltrated A's dollhouse. But A is still at large with two hostages. As the police get closer, all of A's secrets will be revealed. Set after the Season 5 Finale. Read and Review.
1. The Broken Dollhouse

**A/N:** Hey, so this is my first attempt at a full-length PLL story. I hope it goes well. I thought while we are all waiting anxiously for season 6 to start in June, I would write my own PLL theory. It starts a few hours after season 5 ended, I hope you all like it. :)

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 **Chapter One**

 **The Broken Dollhouse**

Police sirens and the flashing strobe lights on the police cruisers illuminated the still, silent night. The gate of the metal fencing that surrounded the small shack stood wide open as officers walked in and out. The ambulance announced its' arrival with a low wail as it pulled up beside two police cars. It was here to pick up the first of possible five victims; a young girl they had found half-buried just inside the fence. She now lay on a plastic sheet they had placed her on, her blonde hair fanned out like a halo around her. Her dress was also torn and dirty.

The radio crackled to life, startling Toby Cavanaugh, pulling his gaze from his unconscious friend. It was his boss, Detective Tanner, requesting his presence inside the shack. Toby swallowed hard, fearing the worst and hoping for the best, and walked through the shack door. He entered into a long, dark hallway with lights lining the walls on either side. It definitely didn't look like any shack he'd been in before.

The hallway sloped downward and Toby guessed he was headed underground. When he turned the corner, he found Detective Tanner standing there with two other officers. Their faces grim and Toby felt his heart drop into his stomach. He approached slowly, trying to keep his face blank like the trained police officer he was.

"What happened?" Toby asked. He was surprised when his voice came out steady and even.

"We were hoping you could shed some light on this for us," Tanner said instead. She half-turned and gestured toward the open door behind her. "Do you recognize this room?"

Toby stepped into the room, his heart sinking further. It was like he was back in Rosewood and she could walk in at any minute. The canopy bed, where they would just lie in each other's arms as the hazy afternoon sun shone in on them. The armchair by the window, where they would sit together and she would rest her head against his shoulder as he read to her. The nostalgia was almost too much and Toby had to tell himself to keep it together.

Anger suddenly filled him, knowing that this was just one of A's games. He spun on his heel to face Tanner, who was standing in the doorway. "What is this? Where are Spencer and the other girls?"

"We haven't found anybody else yet," Tanner shook her head. "But we haven't searched _all_ the rooms yet..."

She was interrupted by a shout coming from down the hall. Toby was the first to spring into action, running out of the room, following the sound of the voice. His heart beat fast both from adrenaline and the familiarity of the voice.

"Is anyone out there?! Please help me!"

It came from the door on Toby's right, followed by three loud bangs. He rushed over to the door and yanked on the handle, but it was locked. "Emily, it's me, Toby, are you alright?" he called to her.

He thought he heard her breathe out a loud sigh of relief a second before she answered, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." There was a pause, then Emily continued, "What about the others? Are Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Mona okay?"

Toby was quiet for a moment, debating on what and how much to tell her through the door. In the end, he just said, "We don't know yet, but we're going to get you out." Toby looked back at Tanner, who nodded toward the other officer. The officer came forward with a set of lock picks in his hand.

The seconds seemed to tick agonizingly slowly as the officer worked and Toby's patience was wearing thin. Of course, he wanted Emily to come out safe, but she might also know where Spencer was. Finally, the door swung open and Emily was standing there. Her green evening gown was rumpled, her hair was unkempt, and her feet were bare, but she looked unharmed. Emily's eyes seemed to widen when she saw the police, like she almost couldn't believe they were here. Then, she ran forward and Toby caught her in his arms. Her body started to shake a little and Toby realized she was crying tears of relief.

"It's okay, it's okay," Toby kept repeating, in a low soothing voice.

After Emily had calmed down, Tanner stepped forward. "Miss Fields, can you tell us what exactly happened here?" she questioned.

Toby didn't miss the look of contempt Emily gave the detective and he couldn't blame her. Tanner was the reason she and the other girls were arrested in the first place. But Emily answered anyway.

"A put us in these rooms that looked exactly like our own back home," Emily explained. "This was his dollhouse and we were his dolls. Charles, that's his name, he was just playing with us, he even dressed Mona up like Alison and made her act like her. We were able to break his game and make it out, but that's when we found out we were fenced in." Her eyes misted over as she recalled the events of the last few hours. "We were trapped and that's when things get all blurry. There was a loud siren and someone screamed. Then, I felt a prick on my arm and everything went dark. When I woke up in my so-called room that's when I heard people outside and it turned out to be you guys." She took a deep breath when she finished as if a giant weight was lifted off of her.

"Do you know where the other girls are?" Tanner asked her.

Emily looked confused. "In their rooms, I guess-" she started to say, but Toby shook his head.

"Spencer's room was empty," he told her, feeling a lump form in his throat as he did.

"And we're assuming the room that looked like Alison Dilaurentis' room was the one Mona was staying in," Tanner added, making it sound like this was a hotel and not a prison. "She wasn't there either."

"What about Hanna and Aria?" Emily asked, her eyes flicking back and forth frantically.

"We found Hanna outside, she's being treated by paramedics, but it doesn't look good," Toby said gently. Emily sucked in a breath. "We haven't found Aria yet, do you know where she could be?"

Emily looked around as if trying to get her bearings, and finally said, "A had her in that room over there." She pointed to the door at the end of the hall and started walking toward. Emily grabbed the door handled and started yanking on it, but quickly realized that it was locked. "Aria?! Are you in there?! Aria!" She pounded on the door, calling to her friend.

Toby gently pulled her away, so that the other officer could unlock the door. It didn't take as long to get the door open this time. When the door swung open, Toby almost thought this room was empty too, until he saw she a small figure lying limp on the bed.

"Aria!" Emily exclaimed, running toward her friend. Toby was right behind her as she knelt next to her friend. There was blood on the side of Aria's face, but there seemed to be nothing else wrong and her breathing was regular. Emily shook her friend's shoulder lightly, calling her name.

Aria groaned slightly as she started to come to, her hand automatically going to her head. She drew in a sharp breath when she saw the blood on her fingers. Then, she looked up and immediately threw her arms around Emily, the two friends holding onto each other tightly, almost sobbing.

"Aria, can you stand up?" Toby asked, when the girls pulled apart. Aria nodded slowly and with Emily's held, she stood up on shaky legs.

"Do you remember how you got here?" Toby questioned her.

Aria tried to think for a minute, but gave up with a small sigh of frustration. "No—I don't-" she said. "I can't remember anything after we ran outside." She looked toward Emily for help, who put an arm around her.

"Let's go and get you checked out by a paramedic, both of you," Toby said, leading them both out of the room. Surprisingly, Detective Tanner didn't object and led them all through the underground cavern without a word.

When they burst outside, both Emily and Aria seemed let out a huge gasp of relief. Toby could only imagine how they must feel to be finally free of a place they've been trapped in. They were barely through the gate when Toby heard a shout and then Aria broke free of Emily's embrace. She ran forward right into Ezra's outstretched arms. Toby wasn't surprised to see him, but he had been hoping that both he and Caleb would have gone back home or to the station when the police had come here.

Watching the couple, or non-couple, Toby wasn't sure what their relationship status was exactly, he felt his heart squeeze painfully. Spencer was still missing and there was no evidence telling him where she was now. Toby had to turn away from the couple and when he did, he saw Caleb hurrying toward him.

He already knew what the other guy wanted before he asked. Toby nodded toward the ambulance, where the paramedics were just starting to load Hanna into it. Caleb turned and immediately started running toward the ambulance. Toby couldn't take it anymore and had to walk away. He covered his face with his hand and sighed. His patience was running thin, if they didn't find something soon, Toby was just going to run off and find Spencer himself. Lowering his hands, Toby looked out at the dark forest in front of him. He knew that running off by himself and abandoning procedure was reckless and dangerous, for him and Spencer, but Toby vowed that he would bring Spencer home. No matter what.

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 **A/N:** So, how was it? Please review and tell me what you think. :) Oh, and which couple would you like to see in this story, Paily or Emison?


	2. No One Can Hear Me Scream

**A/N:** Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I'm glad the first chapter was so well received, it really motivated me to write this chapter. Now, the next three chapters will be taking place around the same time, I'm just going to focus on one character for each three. Enjoy!

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 **Chapter Two**

 **No One Can Hear Me Scream**

" _We're trapped!"_

" _What do we do now?!"_

 _Hanna looked around the small, fenced in compound and at her friends' terrified faces. They matched what she was feeling inside, the icy cold feeling of fear. After all the planning of the fake prom, it only led them to a dead end. It was all for nothing, they were still trapped. Frustrated, Hanna yanked off her wretched high heels, A's shoes, and threw them at the fence. They all watched as the shoes bounced off the electric fence with a loud zap and a few sparks, falling to the ground in a slightly scorched heap._

" _This was a setup!" Hanna snapped as she spun around to face her friends. "We were never going to make it out!"_

" _Hanna, just calm down," Aria said as Spencer and Mona scoped out the perimeter of the fence. Her eyes flicked over to Spencer, who seemed to be deep in thought. Spencer looked over at her and gave a small shake of her head._

" _Calm down?! How am I supposed to calm down when we're trapped in here with a psycho, who wants to kill us?!" Hanna exclaimed._

 _A loud siren erupted through the yard, causing them all to duck their heads and cover their ears. The sound seemed to reverberate through her body, causing Hanna to press her arms harder to her head and sink down to her knees. The grass was wet as it seeped through the fabric of her dress, but she barely noticed it. Then came the smoke, filling the yard with the thick substance. Hanna pressed her face to her knees, trying not to breathe it in, but her body still racked with shuddering coughs. The other girls called out to each other, but Hanna found she didn't have the strength to stand or speak._

 _A few minutes, or hours later, Hanna didn't know, it grew silent and when Hanna looked up, the smoke had thinned. As she stood up, her heart started pounding as she realized that it was a little too quiet. Her friends were nowhere to be seen._

" _Spencer! Aria!" Hanna called out. She squinted through the fading smoke, trying to see any shape or small movement that might be a person. "Emily!...Mona!"_

 _Hanna turned around in a circle and ran across the yard. Panic was rising inside of her. This couldn't be happening, her friends were gone and she was alone. The door of the dollhouse started to creak open and Hanna whipped around to face it. She tried to tell herself to stay calm as the black-dressed figure stepped outside. He still wore his tuxedo and his red and white mask. Hanna closed her eyes and swallowed hard._

Hanna's eyelids flickered a few times, but remained closed. She lay still in the hospital bed, her blonde hair spread out on the stark, white pillow like a halo. There was at least three different machines hooked up to her, their tubes going into her arms, across her face, making her seem so pale and fragile. The heart monitor had spiked for a moment, but was now back to its' regular, mechanical beeping.

"Did you see that?" Caleb asked as he hurried over to stand by Hanna's bedside. Ashley Marin looked at her daughter and then over at him. "Her eyes moved, that has to be a sign that she's waking up, right?"

"Unfortunately, that is a common symptom of coma patients," Dr. Rafe Santiago said. He was tall with casually-tussled black hair and an olive skin tone. He spoke with a slight Spanish accent. "We don't know when she'll wake up, it could be a few hours to a few months. Some actually never wake up."

Caleb felt his heart sink as he stared down at the girl he loved, once so vibrant and full of life. It didn't seem possible that she could be lying here, so close to death. He blinked back the tears that were starting to form behind his eyes, not wanting to breakdown in front of her mother.

"But you said her injuries were minor, I don't understand how-" Ashley started to say, confused.

"It's true, Hanna has only sustained a sprained ankle," Dr. Santiago nodded, moving his clipboard from on hand to the other. "We've done multiple scans and they've all come back clear. In these cases, it's usually caused by a traumatic event. The brain shuts down and the patient withdraws within themselves to someplace they feel safe."

Caleb couldn't tear his eyes away from Hanna, his hands gripping the metal railing on the side of her bed hard. The thought of her alone and scared was almost too much for him to take. All he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms and whisper in her ear. Anything to make her come back to him. He heard someone walk up behind him and place a hand on his shoulder.

"What can we do?" Ashley asked. Her voice was low, and it sounded like she was holding back tears as well.

"Talk to her, be there for her," Dr. Santiago answered. "Let her know that she is safe now." He paused for a second to look at both of them, then added, "If you have any other questions, you can have a nurse page me."

Ashley nodded, and murmured a thank you. The doctor left the room, closing the door with an audible click. Ashley walked over to the other side of her daughter's bed and took her cold hand in hers. Caleb heard her sniffle, but he didn't dare look up because of the tears pooling in his own eyes. He hastily wiped them away before she could notice.

"Did you hear that, Han?" Ashley said to her daughter, her voice trembling a little. She had a tear stain on one cheek, another tear sat in front of her other eye. Ashley reached down and moved a piece of her daughter's blonde hair back behind her ear. "You are safe now. No one's going to hurt you."

Caleb finally looked up at Hanna's face, her still, blank face. Her mouth was slightly open, so that he could hear the small breaths she was taking, matching the slow rise and fall of her chest. Caleb reached down and took Hanna's other hand, holding it between both of his. He closed his eyes tightly, feeling a tear fall and land on their conjoined hands. _Please, please, Hanna, wake up,_ he whispered, willing her to hear him, to feel him here with her.

" _Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead!" sang a melodic voice as the room suddenly brightened with the harsh glare of the morning sunlight._

 _Hanna groaned and started to roll over, but a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. She looked up and saw Mona leaning over, her blonde hair falling past her face. Blonde hair? Mona didn't have blonde hair. Hanna sat up and rubbed at her eyes._

" _Mona, what did you do to your-" Hanna started to ask._

" _Shh, there's no time. You have to get up," Mona interrupted, yanking the comforter off of Hanna. "Come on, he's coming. You have to get out of here!"_

 _Hanna stood up, the fear in Mona's voice was making her worried. "Ok, I just have to get dressed," she said, then she looked down and realized she wasn't wearing pajamas. Instead, she wore a deep red, strapless prom dress. Her heart started to pound. "Mona, what's going-"_

 _A gasp escaped Hanna's lips because Mona wasn't standing in front of her anymore. It was a guy in a black tuxedo and red-and-white mask. Her bedroom disappeared around them and they were outside, a chain-linked fence enclosing them in. Hanna remembered then, getting arrested, Ali's trial, her friends, Mona, and the dollhouse._

 _She stumbled backward, but Charles grabbed her shoulders, keeping her in place. Hanna told herself not to cry and rapidly blinked the tears away. Something was different though. She could see his eyes through the mask. They were a startling ice blue and they seemed to bore right through her, freezing her blood and sending chills down her spine._

" _Charles,..." Hanna whispered._

 _Charles put a finger to the mouth of the mask in a shushing motion, but Hanna had no intention of staying quiet. In one fast movement, Hanna brought her knee up and slammed it into his groin. As soon as he released her, Hanna put as much distance between them as she could._

" _Help! Can anyone hear me?! Please help me!" Hanna yelled into the night, while also not turning her back on him._

 _Charles stayed where he was, watching her. It didn't even seem like she had wounded him even slightly. Hanna's heart was beating wildly as her eyes searched for something, anything she could use as a weapon. The night seemed to hold its' breath just then, no buzzing of insects or a rustle in the leaves. Her throat was dry and she had broken out into a cold sweat. She didn't know if she could make it to the door before Charles reached her. Hanna swallowed hard, wiping her clammy hands on her dress._

 _Then Charles lunged._

Caleb rolled his neck and shoulders to ease the cramp from sitting on the hard stool for he didn't know how long. His back also complained, but he didn't want to leave in case Hanna woke up. Besides this pain was a good distraction from the pain he was feeling in his heart. Just the thought of Hanna never waking up from this was enough to break him. He couldn't imagine his life without her.

"I'm going to see if I can find a decent cup of coffee in this place," Ashley Marin said as she started walked to the door. She stopped and looked at him. "Do you want anything?"

Caleb shook his head, without looking her, "No."

"You know, Caleb, you not going to be any help to her if you pass out from exhaustion," Ashley told him. "You should get some rest or at least go for a walk."

"I'm fine," Caleb replied, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked over at her and tried to give her a grateful smile. "Thanks anyway."

Ashley left after that and Caleb turned back to Hanna. There's been no change since they've brought her in two hours ago. Caleb kept waiting for some sign that she was waking up, anything that told him she wasn't giving up just yet.

"Come on, Hanna," Caleb said, his voice low. He touched her hand that lay on the crisp hospital sheet that was pulled up past her stomach. "I know you can hear me. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Please just open your eyes."

Hanna stayed silent and unmoving, the machine the only sound between them.

Caleb sighed, "I know you're scared, I can't imagine what you went through." He drew soft circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. "But you are safe now. I'm not going to let anything happen to you again. You just have to open your eyes, Hanna."

He looked back at her face, hoping to see some kind of change. There was none. Caleb swallowed back the sudden lump in his throat and blinked back the tears. He brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips to her skin. Leaning his forehead again her hand, a small sob escaped.

"I love you, Hanna," Caleb cried, looking back at her. Her hand rested against his wet cheek. "I've never loved anybody as much as I love you, you're my life. But if you're in any kind of pain..." His lip trembled as he was unable to finish that thought. He took a deep, shuddering breath and that's when he felt a soft, feathery touch on his cheek.

"Hanna?"

 _Hanna's senses were just starting to come back to her. She could feel the hard, wet ground beneath her and the cool breeze felt good against her cheek. Pain throbbed from her ankle and she couldn't help the whimper that escaped her lips._

"...I'm right here...not going anywhere...Please just open your eyes.."

 _Caleb. That was Caleb's voice. Happiness and warmth spread from her chest to the rest of her body. But what was he doing here? Had Charles taken him too? Panic filled her at the thought of Caleb in trouble. Hanna opened her eyes, wanting to see him. But there was no one there. She sat up, wincing at the pain in her ankle. She was alone in the fenced in area outside the dollhouse._

" _Hello? Caleb?!"_

 _Her voice echoed through the still night air. She listened carefully for a footstep or a whisper, but there was none. "Caleb?" Hanna called again, this time her voice was weaker. She had heard his voice, she did, or had she?_

"I know...scared...you...safe now..."

 _The voice seemed to come from inside her head and all around her at the same time. It seemed impossible, unless she was going crazy. After everything that's happened, Hanna thought that probably wasn't a far-off idea. She started to stand up, but her ankle buckled underneath her, causing more pain. Hanna clenched her teeth, biting back the scream._

"...open your eyes, Hanna,"

 _That was definitely Caleb's voice, but why was he telling her to open her eyes? Was she dreaming? During the past few hours, Hanna had hoped that this was all just a huge nightmare. It hadn't turned out that way, so why was now different? Tears started to burn the back of her eyes and she started tremble. Then, she heard his voice again._

"I love you."

 _With that, Hanna stopped trembling because, suddenly, she could feel his love, surrounding her, like a blanket. It warmed her, easing away her fears and clearing her head. Hanna took a deep, steady breath and closed her eyes._

Her blue eyes stared up at him, seeming to suck all the breath out of him. Caleb almost couldn't believe his eyes. Not until, Hanna moved her hand away from his cheek and took his hand. Their fingers intertwining and Caleb smiled.

"I love you, too," Hanna said, her voice raspy and raw. Caleb leaned toward her, their lips meeting in a soft kiss. It didn't last long, because Caleb didn't want to push her too hard after she'd just woke up, but he didn't mind. He knew that there would be plenty more kisses in the future.

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 **A/N:** How was it? Did you like it? Please review and tell me. :)


	3. Mixed Memories

**A/N:** Thanks to everybody who reviewed and folllowed/favorited this story so far! It means so much to me that this story has been so well received. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post this chapter, but here it is. :)

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 **Chapter Three**

 **Mixed Memories**

Ezra paced just outside the operating room of Rosewood Medical Center, his shoes squeaking on the tiled floor every time he turned. He couldn't seem to keep his hands still either, he moved them from his hips to his face, then to his hair. His mind was restless as well, replaying the last thirty minutes in his head. He stopped and stared at the double doors of the OR, trying to will the doctor to come back out. Of course, Ezra knew that wasn't going to happen, so he sighed and resumed his pacing.

 _The way she fit into his arms was perfect, like they were made for each other. All fear and anxiety he had felt during the past twenty-four hours disappeared the moment he held her. He buried his face in her thick, dark hair, breathing in her sweet scent. Suddenly, Aria looked up at him and Ezra thought she was going to kiss him. Until, he realized that her face was pale and her pupils were diluted._

 _She opened her mouth with a small squeak and said only one word, "Ezra..." Then, her body went limp in his arms._

Her voice was like a haunting melody playing over and over in Ezra's head. _Ezra...Ezra...Ezra..._ He slumped against the nearby wall and put his head in his hands. Ezra couldn't understand it, one minute she was fine and whole and the next...she wasn't. He hadn't been allowed to ride in the ambulance, because it was too crowded. Both he and Caleb had to watch as their loves of their lives were taken away, their fates out of their hands. By the time Ezra had arrived at the hospital, Aria was already in surgery and, of course, the nurse wouldn't tell him anything because he wasn't family.

Hearing the rush of footsteps, Ezra looked up and saw that Aria's parents were coming up to him. Mike wasn't with them, so Ezra wondered if he'd opted not to come or if his parents had told him to stay home. Both wore identical fearful and worried expressions on their faces and Ella looked near-close to tears. Ezra straightened and took a deep breath.

"Where is she?! Where is our daughter?!" Bryon's voice boomed through the emergency room, a few nurses at the desk looked up at them. Ezra held up his hands to slow the man's advancements.

"She's been in surgery since I got here," Ezra said, helplessly. "And no one will tell me anything."

"The police said she was awake and seemed fine," Ella said, trying to make sense of it all. She turned to Ezra. "What happened?"

Ezra shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know," he told her. "She didn't say anything, she just collapsed right there." He looked down at his hands, the last things to touch her.

"This is ridicules," Byron muttered, and started walking toward the double doors of the OR. "I'm finding out what's going on right now."

But he stopped abruptly when the doors swung open, revealing a doctor in green, surgical scrubs. His thick black hair fell into his eyes as he took off his surgical mask and ran a hand through it. There was tired lines around his eyes and Ezra wondered just how busy he'd been today. Aria's parents surrounded the doctor immediately, while Ezra stayed back just a little to give the doctor some space.

"How is our daughter?" Byron asked, his patience wearing thin.

"I assume you are Aria's Montgomery's parents?" the doctor asked, and when they nodded, he stuck his hand out, the one not holding the mask. "I'm Dr. Rafe Santiago, I operated on your daughter when she came in."

Byron shook the doctor's hand and asked, again, "How is she?"

Dr. Santiago's face grew somber. "Aria has suffered from significant head trauma. We don't know exactly what happened, but she does have a concussion and she was hemorrhaging pretty bad when she came in. I was able to stop it, but we won't know the extent of the damage until she wakes up."

"Can we see her?" Ella asked, dabbing a crumpled tissue she'd taken from her pocket to her eyes.

Dr. Santiago nodded. "For a few minutes," he said. "She's still unconscious though, I can't say when she'll wake up."

The doctor turned and walked back through the double doors toward the ICU, expecting them to follow. Both parents didn't look back at Ezra as they stepped through the doors and he wasn't sure if he should follow. He was definitely not one of Byron's favorite people and technically, he and Aria weren't even together anymore. Ezra wasn't sure what the protocol for this was. So, that's how the heavy, metal doors swung slowly closed, trapping him on the wrong side.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Aria woke up to bright, fluorescent lights, making it hard for her to see anything. When her eyes finally adjusted, Aria was confused. She didn't recognize her surroundings and everything smelled like antiseptic. To her right, there was a very loud beeping coming from a machine that she was hooked up to. Was she in the hospital? What happened last night? Her mind was a jumble of images, none of which made any sense. A dull throb of pain started at her temple and intensified. Aria winced and closed her eyes against the pain.

The door creaked open and Aria heard a small gasp and footsteps enter the room. Aria opened her eyes and saw her mother rush over to her. She threw her arms around Aria, regardless of all the tubes and wires going in and out of her. Aria didn't mind though, she buried her face into her mother's hair, and held onto her tightly. After a few minutes, they let go, her mother wiping tears from her eyes, and it was her father's turn. His soothing voice whispered in her ear just how glad he was that she was here and safe. She welcomed his embrace, though their unspoken secret hung between them and Aria couldn't help but glance at her mother.

"Where are the others?" Aria asked, when they separated. "What happened exactly?"

"We don't know," Ella began a little hesitantly. "The police had found you and Emily, and that's when Ezra said, you collapsed-"

"Wait a minute," Aria interrupted her mother, shaking her head. Something her mother said didn't make sense. "Who's Ezra?"

Five minutes later, Aria was sitting up in the hospital bed as the doctor shined a small flashlight into her eyes. He also asked her several questions like what was her full name, how old she was, easy ones like that. Though, when she hesitantly said that she was fifteen years old, Aria couldn't help but notice the quick, anxious look her parents shared. Dr. Santiago put down his clipboard at the foot of the bed and folded his hands together in front of him.

"Aria, what is the last thing you remember before you woke up here?" the doctor asked her.

Aria thought for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. "Um, my friends and I were having a sleep...it was the night before the first day of sch-" She stopped, something telling her that was wrong. Suddenly, a flurry of nonsensical images flashed before her. Her and her friends in orange jumpsuits, then prom dresses. A red-and-white mask. A chain-linked fence. "I don't know, nothing makes any sense!" Aria grabbed her head, the pain returning with full-force. It felt like someone was pounding a hammer down on her skull over and over again. She felt her mother sit down on the edge of her bed and wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"Aria is suffering from acute memory loss, it's a common side-effect with brain injury patients," Dr. Santiago explained, his voice low, to her parents. "Usually, this is only temporary and the fact that she is doubting the memories she does have is a good sign."

"What can we do?" she heard her father ask.

"Be there for her, it's going to be hard knowing that she's missing a lot," Dr. Santiago answered. "She's going to feel lost and confused and it will be frustrating for her. Just try to keep her calm and comfortable, nothing good will come from her getting all worked up."

"Can we tell her anything to help her remember?" Ella asked, her voice sounding faraway even though she was right next to her.

"A little bit," the doctor nodded. "But you don't want to overwhelm her with too much information, so keep it small to start. Anything too heavy will just upset her."

Byron thanked him and her mother echoed him. "If you have anymore questions, my office is always open or you can have one of the nurses page me," Dr. Santiago said. Aria felt him pick up his clipboard from the bed and head for the door. Only when she heard the door clicked shut again, did Aria look up at the solemn faces of her parents.

It scared her, knowing that she was missing a big chunk of life. Who knows what could have happened to her or her friends and something did happen because she was in the hospital with a concussion. She wiped tears from her eyes as it hurt when she tried to remember something. It hurt even worse because it felt like a memory sat within grasp, but every time she tried to reach out to it, her head screamed out in pain. She had a sudden, horrifying thought that something really bad happened to her and she was unconsciously blocking it out.

"What happened to me?" Aria cried, looking up at her parents as one tear slid slowly down her cheek.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

 _Ezra_

Ezra couldn't believe he was doing this. He was never one to break the rules, but everything he had gone through in the past few years caused him to put aside all his morals. And the fact that the girl he loved more than life itself, lay in a hospital bed with a brain injury was enough to make him do something irrational. That was why he stood outside Aria's room in the ICU, a half hour after her parents had left. They hadn't even noticed him still sitting in the waiting room when they rushed out, looking even more distraught than before. It made him wonder just what happened in there.

After about five minutes had passed, Ezra had walked up to the nurse's station and pretended to be Aria's brother before he could talk himself out of it. It had been almost too easy when the nurse in rose-colored scrubs told him where he could fine Aria. He had to tell himself to walk and not sprint down the hallway, otherwise he'd attract unwanted attention. Now, Ezra stood outside her door feeling nervous and unsure if he should really go in. What if she was sleeping or she didn't want to see him?

 _Aria_

Aria lay facing the far windows, feeling a bit lonely since her parents left a half hour ago. There was no other patients in the room with her, making it feel enormous and empty. She couldn't stop thinking about what her parents had told her, trying to trigger loose a memory. It was just little stuff they told her, like the doctor had said, like that she was now a senior in high school and that they were no longer together anymore. Aria didn't know how to respond to that, it was obvious that she'd already known, but it hurt like a fresh wound, knowing that they were no longer the same family anymore.

The door creaked open, breaking her out of her thoughts. Aria turned to the door and saw a man with dark hair and bright blue eyes step cautiously into the room. He seemed unsure of himself, but when she turned to him, he seemed to freeze, like he was caught doing something wrong. Of course, Aria couldn't place him, but he felt somehow familiar to her.

"Um, can I help you?" she asked hesitantly.

The man furrowed his brow in confusion. "Aria, it's me, Ezra," he said, taking two steps forward. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, I don't-" Aria started to say, then she remembered something. "My parents said that you were with me when I passed out. Thank you for—for being there."

Ezra's face had paled as he started to grasp the situation. "You don't remember what happened?" he asked her.

"I don't remember much of anything from the past two years, only what comes in small flashes," Aria answered, looking down at her hands. "Were we—are we friends?" She looked up at him, gauging his reaction.

He didn't give much away though, but his fingers flexed like he wanted to reach out to touch her. Aria desperately tried to recall him in a memory, but nothing came. She felt a deep pull, a connection to him, but she didn't know why. What had they been to each other? Had they been more than just friends? It was frustrating, because it seemed like he wasn't willing to tell her much of anything.

Finally, Ezra moved up next to her bed and took her hand in his, surprising her a little. His hand was warm in hers and they seemed to fit together perfectly. Aria stared at their conjoined hands, until he started speaking.

"We are," Ezra said. Aria looked up at him, his blue eyes shining with an unspeakable emotion. "And I want you to know, that I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

* * *

 **A/N:** I know it wasn't that long, but honestly, this chapter was so hard to write. I'm also so sorry that I kept you waiting so long, I promise the next chapter will be up sooner. Please review, and tell me what you thought! :)


	4. Wish I Could See You

**A/N:** I am so sorry this chapter is late. I don't know what it is about the individual chapters that are so hard to write. I am trying to post on a weekly schedule, so bear with me. Anyway, by majority vote, most of you said that you wanted to see Emison in this story. So, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

 **Wish I Could See You**

Emily sat on the edge of the gurney, buttoning up her black-and-gray shirt. It felt so good to be back in her own clothes, and not A's prom dress or even the prison's orange jumpsuit. While she'd been waiting for a doctor to check her over, needing to keep herself busy, her mother had gone home to get Emily a change of clothes. Now, she was signing the necessary paperwork for Emily to go home. After tying her sneakers, Emily hopped down off the gurney and picked up her phone, another thing her mother had thoughtfully brought her. Emily was actually surprised to see it, she'd thought it had been permanently confiscated by the police when she was arrested.

Suddenly, the plastic curtain surrounding her cubicle screeched as it was pushed back. "I was thinking before we left, I could-" Emily started to say as she turned around, but stopped when she realized it wasn't her mother. "Toby, what are you doing here?" He was still in uniform and she couldn't help but glance at the object in his hands. Another police officer walked up to stand next to him.

"We're here to ask you a few questions, but first," Toby said, and held up the ankle monitor he held in his hands. Emily sucked in a breath. "I'm sorry, Emily, but until we have concrete evidence that Mona is alive, Alison is still her murderer and you are an accessory."

"Then why don't you just take me back to prison?" Emily asked him as he knelt in front of her to fasten the anklet around her leg.

"A calculated decision," Toby answered her. He waited until he finished and stood back up to continue, "Tanner doesn't want to risk another van getting hijacked and she thinks that if we can keep you three home-bound, we'll know it if A makes another move against you."

Emily didn't think that would work, A or rather, Charles, wouldn't have left them at the dollhouse if he still wanted them. No, he wanted the police to find them, he was planning something else. Emily kept her mouth shut though, Toby already knew Charles' motives anyway.

"I thought you would be out there looking for Spencer, why are you here anyway?" Emily asked.

"That's exactly why I'm here," Toby answered, a little bitterly. "Tanner doesn't want me to go on some vigilante mission. Though, she's not that far off, if I weren't here, I would be out there searching for Spencer."

"So, no other leads then?" Emily asked.

Toby shook his head, just as the other police officer nudged his side. He cleared his throat. "We're just going to ask you a few questions, just answer them the best you can, ok?" Toby explained. When Emily nodded, he continued, "You said earlier, that you and the other girls had tried an unsuccessful breakout. What happened after that?"

Emily sighed and sat down on the edge of the gurney. "I'm not really sure," she said truthfully. "We were outside for about a minute and then a siren went off, a few seconds later, so did a smoke bomb. I couldn't see anything, but managed to find Aria. We ran back inside the dollhouse to try and find another way out. Charles found us though and he hit Aria over the head with a metal pipe. I tried to stop him, but someone grabbed me from behind. When I turned around, all I saw was long, blonde hair peeking out from a black hoodie. She was wearing a mask, so I couldn't see her face."

"So, he had someone else helping him?" Toby asked as the other officer scribbled everything she's been saying down into a notepad.

"It seems that way," Emily nodded.

"What happened next?" the other officer probed after a slight pause.

"She sucker-punched me in the stomach and when I was doubled over, she elbowed me in the back," Emily said, wincing slightly as she remembered the pain she had felt. "I must have hit my head when I fell, because I blacked out after that. When I woke up, I was back in my room and I could hear the police outside the door."

Then, because he wasn't just another police officer, but her friend, Toby stepped forward and gave her a hug. Emily sighed and wrapped her arms around him, her chin resting on his shoulder. "We're going to find him, Em," Toby whispered in her ear. "He's going to pay for what he's done. I'm going to make sure of it."

Emily pulled back in time to see just how serious his words were, the intensity in his blue eyes almost scared her. She opened her mouth to tell him not to do anything too drastic or dangerous, when the plastic curtain opened again. Pamela Fields walked into the cubicle, looking surprised and a little annoyed to find the police interrogating her daughter only an hour after she was rescued from a place where she was being held hostage by a psychopath.

"What's going on in here?" Pam questioned, a sharp tone in her voice, as she walked over to stand beside her daughter.

"We were just asking Emily a few questions," Toby answered. He turned toward the other officer. "I think we got what we need for right now?" The officer nodded and pocketed the notepad.

"Of course, you are," Pam said. "In case you haven't noticed, my daughter has just been through a traumatic ordeal and she would like to go home where she's safe."

"Mom, it's okay," Emily whispered to her mother.

"Yeah, we didn't mean any harm," Toby apologized, touching his hand to his heart in sincerity. "We just needed to ask Emily a few questions, so that we can catch the creep who did this to her and the others."

"I know you didn't, Toby," Pam softened a bit. "You're the only one in that station who still has your emotions turned on."

Toby couldn't help, but crack a smile as he followed the other officer out. Emily watched him leave, and then stood up from the gurney and turned to face her mother. "So, did you find out about Hanna and Aria? I want to go see them," she asked.

"They're both awake," Pam started, and Emily breathed a long sigh of relief. "But they're not allowed anymore visitors tonight. I think that's a good thing, though, you all need to rest. You've been through a lot."

"I know, mom," Emily sighed. "I just want to see them, I want them to know that I'm here for them."

Pam reached out and touched her daughter's cheek. "Oh, honey," she started. "They know, they do. You four girls share a bond that they can feel your love even when you're someplace else. I've seen it."

Emily gave her mother a small smile.

"C'mon, let's go home," Pam said, putting her arm around her daughter's shoulders. They started walking out of the cubicle, when her phone started ringing in her hand. She looked down at it and frowned a little. The number was only vaguely familiar, but she didn't know why.

"What is it?" Pam asked, seeing the look on her daughter's face. Emily showed her the phone.

"That's the same number that's been calling every few hours," Pam explained. "I thought you would know who it was. Go ahead and answer it."

Suddenly, Emily realized why the number seem so familiar and her heart nearly skipped a beat. She had called it enough in the two weeks leading up to her rescue. Quickly, she asked her mother if she could have a moment and Pam nodded, stepping out of the cubicle. Taking a deep breath, Emily answered the phone.

"This is the Chester County Women's Correctional Facility, do accept the charges?" came the automatic voice on the other end of the phone.

"Yes," Emily said with only a little hesitation.

There was click on other end and then she heard the familiar voice. It was laced with fear and anxiousness, emotions she never really associated with the voice until recently. "Em? Emily, is that you?"

"Alison," Emily licked her lips, then she added, "It's me."

Emily heard the giant sigh of relief through the phone and a shiver went down her spine. She could almost feel the cool breath against her skin and the image of the kiss they shared a few months ago suddenly filled her mind. She had been so scared back then, so unlike Alison, and all Emily wanted to do was take that away from her. Emily still wanted to.

"I was so scared!" Alison was saying. "After Spencer's parents told me your van was hijacked, I didn't know what to think. I just kept calling your phone, hoping that by some miracle you would pick up. The warden won't take her eye off of me for a second now. She probably thinks I'm dealing drugs or something." She added the typical Allison sneer at the end, but it came out a little weaker than usual. "I thought I'd never see—or rather, hear from you again."

"I'm fine, Hanna and Aria are too," Emily told her. She decided to keep the information about what happened to them to a minimal. There was no use in worrying Ali now, there was nothing she could do while she was in the jail cell anyway. Then, Emily wondered whether she should tell Ali that Mona was alive, but thought better of it. The police were still going on the assumption that Mona was dead; they had no other concrete evidence that suggested otherwise. Alison would just remain in prison until they found Mona.

"What about Spencer?"

Emily blinked. It took her a moment to realize what Alison was asking. "We don't know," she said truthfully.

"So, A still has her?" Alison questioned. "Why did he let you three go, but keep her? That doesn't make any sense. What does he want with her?"

Emily shrugged even though Alison couldn't see, and then her eyes widened as she suddenly remembered something. "Ali, we know his name. It's Charles Dilaurentis," she said. "Do you know him? Do you recognize the name?"

There was silence on the other line and, for a minute, Emily thought they'd been cut off. "No, I don't," she finally said. Emily thought her voice sounded a bit off, but she chalked it up to the connection. "I've never heard that name before."

They lapsed into another silence as Emily mulled over Alison's answer. She didn't think she was lying, but something in Alison's voice made her think that there was more to the story. She didn't want to push her friend, though. With everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, now was not the time to start a fight. It might even be nothing. Emily wanted to believe that if Alison knew anything about Charles, she would tell her. They've come to far for more lies.

"I wish I could be there," Alison broke the silence, her voice a near whisper. "I want to see you, see for myself that you are alright."

"I really am okay," Emily gulped, afraid that Ali would hear the sudden thudding of her heart. She really didn't know what to say. Ali just seemed so lost and helpless lately.

"I have to go," Alison said just then and Emily heard a rough voice in the background. "I'm not sure when I'll be allowed any more phone calls, but, at least, I know that you, Hanna, and Aria are okay."

"Ali," Emily replied, before the other girl could hang up. "We're going to get you out. Okay? Just... take care of yourself."

"Don't I always," Alison reminded her, but she sounded close to tears.

After they hung up, Emily stared at the phone, feeling tears fill her own eyes. She had to believe that everything was going to turn out okay. The police will find Mona and Spencer and Charles will finally pay for everything he's done. Alison would be free and they could all graduate together, closer friends than they'd been before all this started.

"Em? You ready?" Pam asked her, peeking her head inside the cubicle.

Emily looked up at her and tried for a smile. "Yeah," she said. She followed behind her mother, all the while, holding onto her dream that maybe someday it would be true.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you liked about it! :)


	5. Hello, Charles

**A/N:** With every new chapter I post, I get more and more story followers/favorites. That is amazing to me, because it means I'm doing something right and you all are enjoy what I'm writing. I just feel bad that I keep you waiting so long for each chapter. Thank you all again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know you will because you'll get a few answers. :)

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

 **Hello, Charles**

Spencer awoke with a gasp, shooting upward, the creak of springs audible from beneath her. At first glance around, Spencer thought she was back in her fake room in A's dollhouse. But it wasn't. This room was sparse and empty, with a table and chair by the window and a desk on the opposite wall of her. A small table stood next to the flimsy, metal bed she was sitting on. Something tickled in the back of her mind, but she couldn't get a solid hold on it.

Throwing the thin sheets off, Spencer stood up, her bare feet cold on the tile floor. She looked down and saw that she was no longer wearing that wretched prom dress, but a medical gown. It was how she got into this garment that scared her the most though. Spencer shook her head, not wanting to think about that right now, and hurried to the heavy, metal door. She tugged on the handle relentlessly and peeked out the small, rectangular window.

A woman dressed in a white nurse's uniform walked by holding a clipboard tight to her chest. Her blonde hair was in a tight bun and she wore black-rimmed glasses. Spencer banged on the door and yelled to her, but she either didn't hear her or chose not to. She banged and yelled a few more times, before turning back around, her eyes wide. She knew where she was. It was Radley. The same room she stayed in when she was a patient here, to be exact. There was no way she wouldn't recognize it, the same scratches on the wall by the bed and the same chair by the window that wobbled when you sat in it. If she walked over to the desk, she'd see the secret messages carved into the surface from when Mona stayed here.

Unable to stay in the room any longer, Spencer ran to the window and jerked it open. She was only slight surprised when it did, but stuck her head out anyway. The closest tree was just out of arm-length reach and the branch over her head look too fragile to hold her entire weight. The side of the brick building was slick and without any handholds or footholds. Jumping was out of the question as well.

"I wouldn't, Spencer,"

Spencer froze at the sound of his voice. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and a chill went down her spine. She turned around slowly and there he was. Less than five feet away from her, wearing jeans and his trademark black hoodie. He still his wore his mask from the fake prom, though.

"Charles," Spencer gasped quietly.

"The last person who jumped didn't make it," Charles continued. "They say her blood is still stained on the pavement below."

"What did you do to my friends?" Spencer questioned him, while she subtly glanced around the room for anything that she could use as a weapon. Of course, since this was Radley, there was none, except...she thought she saw something shimmer from under the bed. "Where are they?"

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about them," Charles said, his voice was soft and a little unsure like this was the first time he was speaking to another person. Spencer could also hear the grin in his voice without seeing it. " _You_ are the one in more imminent danger."

"What do you want with us, Charles?" Spencer questioned again. She flicked her gaze back over at the knife under the bed, and then back at Charles, hoping he didn't notice. "Do you really hate us this much or is it just that we're friends with Alison?"

"Don't talk about my sister!" Charles snapped. "Not after you almost killed her and then got her sent to prison."

"I am sorry that Ali had to take the fall, but," Spencer said. "It is not my fault, if you want someone to blame, just look at yourself. Ali is in prison for Mona's murder and we all know that you've had her this whole time-"

Charles let out a low growl and lunged for her, his arms outstretched. Spencer was ready, though, and surged to the side, diving for the bed. Her fingers grasped the handle of the knife and sprang back up to her feet to face Charles. He stood in front of the window, a few feet away from her, seething. But Spencer had the upper-hand now, and she was going to take advantage of it.

"Game over, Charles," Spencer brandished the knife. "Tell me why you're doing all this."

Surprisingly, Charles raised his hands. "All I've ever wanted to do was protect my sister," he confessed. Spencer was thrown a little, that definitely wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"If by protecting her you mean, almost killing, tormenting her for years and then framing her for murder and sending her to jail," Spencer spat at him. "Then you're doing a hell of a job."

Charles let out a growl, and started to lunge toward her, but Spencer thrust the knife out in front of her. "You take one more step toward me, I swear I'll kill you and I won't even think twice about it."

Charles stopped dead in his tracks and raised his hands again. Spencer realized that meant he was unarmed, which she found odd, but pleasing. Maybe a little unnerving as well, every other time they had encountered him, he'd had some kind of weapon on him. So, why now, did he come in here empty-handed? Spencer didn't know, but she wasn't going to stick around and find out. She just had to get some answers first.

"Take off your mask and show me who you are," Spencer demanded. The knife was surprisingly steady in her hand, ready to use if the situation called for it. Charles just stood there, making no move do as she said.

"You're not really in the position to be making demands,Spencer," came a voice from behind her. Spencer spun around, but she made sure to keep her back to the wall, so she could still see Charles as well. The blonde woman in the white nurse's uniform she'd seen earlier was standing in front of the door, the clipboard and glasses gone. Her eyes were dark blue and she looked about Spencer's own age, maybe a year or two older.

"Who are you?" Spencer asked, swallowing hard.

The girl smiled just then and Spencer saw the glint of a liquid-filled syringe in her hand. However, the girl looked past her to Charles. "I told you not to come in yet," she told him, a sadistic smile on her face. "She's still too emotional."

"I think she was about to jump out the window," Charles said.

"And unstable then," the girl replied and took a step forward. "It's okay, Spencer, I have something that will help you."

Spencer took two quick steps backward. "Stay away from me," she warned both them, the knife started to shake in her hand as her heart started beating fast. She licked her lips and willed herself to stay calm. Suddenly, her arms were yanked behind her as Charles grabbed her. A small gasp escaped her right before Charles brought a hand up to cover her mouth. The knife clattered uselessly to the floor.

"Don't scream, Spencer," he whispered right next to her ear. His breath was cool against her hot skin and smelled slightly like peppermints. "You'll feel better soon."

Spencer struggled against him, but he was much stronger than her and he had a tight hold on her arms. The woman suddenly appeared in front of her that grin still plastered on her face and she held up the syringe. Spencer struggled harder and a small whimper even escaped her lips, but Charles held on tight. The woman grabbed her arm and raised the syringe. In one fast motion, the needle sank into the flesh of her upper arm.

Spencer flinched at the prick of pain and almost immediately the edges of her vision started to go black. She tried to open her mouth to tell them to stop, but it felt like her tongue grew two times its' normal size. There were voices, but they sounded distant and muffled, like she was underwater. The ground gave out from beneath her and then she was falling. Then, she was being lifted up, cradled in a soft blanket. Spencer saw the blur of a silhouette lean down close to her and then a whisper was in her ear.

"Nighty night, sis,"

The darkness took her then, and as much as she tried to fight it, she couldn't. Her body felt limp and heavy like a wet sponge. Her mind seemed to have turned to mush as well, she couldn't seem to hold onto anything concrete. She couldn't even remember where she'd been before she came to this dark place. The only thing she could remember was the voice that last spoke to her. Something tingled at the back of her mind and she held onto it like it was life line. She knew that voice, she'd heard it before.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

 _Spencer! Spencer, wake up! Open your eyes, you need to wake up!_

Spencer's eyelids fluttered open and she had the sense of dejavu. She was still in her old room at Radley, laying on the stiff, uncomfortable bed again. Her arms and shoulders ached, but when she tried to move them she couldn't and she heard the rattle of chains. She glanced over her shoulder, ignoring the ache of pain and saw that they'd bound her hands together after they drugged her. Spencer struggled to sit up, her head still feeling a little woozy from whatever they had given her.

There was no one else in the room, so Spencer didn't know where that voice had come from. She sighed and leaned back against the wall, wincing a little as the chains chafed against her skin. She sighed, feeling her thoughts sink even lower than they had before. Chances that she was getting out of here on her own were slim to none. Spencer just had to hope that her friends were in a better position than she was and they would come and find her. Maybe even the police were getting close. Her thoughts turned to Toby just then, wishing he was here and thinking that he was probably running himself haggard trying to find her.

Voices started to filter in from the hallway, they began as hushed whispers, but slowly turned louder. One was defensive and the other seemed confused and a bit angry. Spencer immediately recognized them as belonging to Charles and the woman, who'd been with him. They sounded close, probably only a few feet from the door.

"Why are you changing the plan all of sudden?" the woman was asking. "This is what you wanted."

"None of this is what I wanted," Charles said, tiredness seeping into his voice. "What _I_ wanted was to keep my sister safe. That's all I _ever_ wanted."

"And you have," she assured him. "We just need to stay focused. Those girls are still a threat to us, this isn't over yet."

"Maybe it is for me," Charles replied, his voice barely audible. "My sister is in jail because of you, another is lying in there in chains. When does it end, Beth?"

Beth? As in Bethany Young? The wheels in Spencer's brain were spinning as she tried to inch herself  
further along the bed, closer to the door. If Charles was really talking to Bethany, how is it that she's still alive? The police had identified her body in Ali's fake grave, unless it was only made to look like her body. She knew A was more than capable of tampering with DNA results.

"Trust me, Charles, I'm doing this for us," the girl, Bethany, reassured him again.

"I'm trying to, but after what you did in that bunker," Charles confessed. "I don't know what to think of your motives anymore."

So, it was Bethany who had them all trapped in that underground bunker. Spencer swallowed hard, trying to digest the news. There was no response, instead Spencer heard the sound of a loud, sharp slap. She flinched as it echoed into the room, feeling as if it was her own cheek that was hit. Charles said something then, but his voice was too low for her to make out the words. Spencer couldn't tell if Bethany said anything else either, but she did hear the sound of retreating footsteps.

The silence seemed to stretch out long and Spencer tried to quiet her breaths, in case whoever was still out there could hear. Then, someone approached her door and Spencer immediately fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. The door creaked open, but no one came in. Spencer lay as still as possible and kept her breathing slow and steady, to make whoever was there think that she was still unconscious.

Someone let out a long, sighing breath. "Don't worry, Spencer," came Charles' quiet voice. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

* * *

 **A/N:** How was it? Hopefully, it was worth that long wait. I promise it won't be that long before I post the next chapter. Please review!


	6. The Dilaurentis' Secret

**A/N:** Are you guys ready for some more answers? Well, you're going to get'em. :) Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

 **The Dilaurentis' Secret**

Alison sat alone on her cot inside her cell of Chester County Women's Correctional Facility. It was technically free time, most of the other inmates were wandering the small spaces between cells, talking in low to moderate voices. Not Alison, though. If someone had told her three years ago that she, Alison Dilaurentis, would be sitting alone wearing a tacky orange jumpsuit instead of commanding the attention of everyone in the room, she would have laughed right in their face. But for the past few weeks, she found comfort and safety in being in her cell. Truthfully, she didn't stand a chance against the other more dangerous and volatile women.

She's barely stepped out of her cell, only for chore duty, since she'd heard that most of her friends were found safe and unharmed. Alison just couldn't get the conversation with Emily out of her head. It had definitely sounded like she had been through some terrible things and Alison really wished she could be there for her and help get her through this. But that wasn't what was really troubling her. Emily had asked her something about her family. She'd asked her if she knew anyone by the name of Charles Dilaurentis. Alison had said she didn't, and that was true, but there had been a small spark of familiarity at the name. She probably should have told Emily, but she wasn't sure it would do any good.

Charles Dilaurentis.

The name meant something to her, that's the feeling she was getting. But from where? Everytime she tried to think back further into her memory, for maybe a young cousin she used to play with, all she ended up with was a headache. She could ask her father when he came to visit, but he'd just come last week and he hasn't been coming as regular as before. Alison couldn't wait until the next time he daned to visit her, she needed to know who this Charles person was now.

" _Mommy, where are they taking Charlie?"_

Alison sat up straight, her arms falling from around her knees and her eyes widened. Out of instinct, she looked over at her half-open cell door, but no one was there. There was no doubt in her mind that it had been a long-lost memory, but no other images came except herself as little girl talking to her mother. She was wearing a flowy, pink and purple polka-dot sundress and her blonde hair was loose and wavy around her shoulders. Alison tried to push a little further and something started to bubble to the surface. She saw herself standing in front of the window, peeking through the curtain as she watched something happening outside.

"Alison?"

Alison jerked like she was stung and looked up. Another inmate stood at the entrance of her cell, looking at her. She was tall with short brown hair, ending just past her chin. It showed off the raven tattoo Ali knew was on the back of her neck. Her name was Haley and she was one of the more friendlier inmates. She was in here on a few drug charges, but she was always there if Ali found herself in trouble.

"A group of us are starting a game of cards in the common room, you want in?" Haley asked, not waiting for any type of greeting.

"Nah, I think I'll just stay here," Alison offered a small smile. "It's almost lights out anyway."

"'kay," Haley said, and she continued down the hall. Another thing about Haley was that she didn't pry, her philosophy being that your own problems got you in here, you don't need anybody else's on top of it. Ali thought that was smart, but she also missed having her friends to talk to.

Laying all the way down on the small cot, Alison turned on her side and closed her eyes. She willed the memory to come back to her, wanting to know more about Charles. At first, she could only see the blackness behind her eyelids, but then, very slowly, an image started to appear.

 _Two men in uniform led a young boy about the age of ten toward a white vehicle. His shoulders were stiff and his head was bowed as if he'd already resigned himself to his fate. His jeans were dirty and frayed at the bottom, the cuffs of his yellow sweatshirt were rolled up as well. Her father stood at the bottom of the porch, arms crossed over his chest. Little Ali couldn't see his face from her vantage point, but his posture was rigid and stiff._

 _One of the men opened the back door of the van, but before they helped the boy inside, he turned back to look at the house. His bright blue eyes seemed to lock on her through the glass of the window. He gave her a sad smile, a piece of blonde hair falling into his eye. Then, it was like a switch was turned, and the boy shoved his shoulder into the stomach of the man still holding him. He took off running back down the front walk. Even as young as she was, Ali knew that he was completely intent of coming back inside the house, to her. He didn't get that far though, before he was tackled to the ground._

" _Alison?"_

 _Ali jumped and turned around. Her mother came toward her with a worried expression on her face. "I've been calling you," Jessica said, she put her hand on her daughter's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"_

" _Mommy, where are they taking Charlie?" Alison asked._

 _Jessica blanched and then quickly pulled the curtains closed. But Ali could still hear the scuffle and yelling coming from outside. She wanted to cover her ears and block the sounds of what those strangers were doing to her brother out of her head._

" _C'mon, sweetie, it's time for your medicine," Jessica dodged the question and took Ali by the shoulders to guide from the living room._

 _Jessica came around and knelt down in front of her daughter. She took her daughter's hands in hers. "Charles is sick and he's going away, so he can get some help. He's going to live with people and kids just like him." Jessica explained as best as she could to her young daughter._

" _Will I see him again?" Ali asked hopefully._

" _No, you won't," Jessica said, matter-of-factly._

Alison's eyes snapped open and she sucked in a deep breath. Charles was her brother. Her mother and father had sent him away and destroyed everything that was his. They made it like he never existed. But how was it, she couldn't remember anything about him until now. Suddenly, Alison couldn't worry about that right now, she had to get to a phone.

The hallway was crowded, so she had to try her best not to push anybody or else she'll start a fight she didn't want. It didn't cross her mind that it might be almost time for light's out, her mind was only on one thing. Getting to a phone and telling her friends what she just remembered. She was so focused, she didn't see the warden until she ran into him. His broad-shouldered, stocky build had her stumbling backward a few feet.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked her, sternly. "It's light's out, get back to your cell."

"I just have to make a call!" Ali pleaded with him. "I'll be quick I promise!"

"I don't think so," the warden declined, pointing back down the row of cell blocks. "Go now."

"Please, it's very important," Ali thought about getting down on her hands and knees, but thought better of it. She could feel the desperation rise up into her chest. Any little thing she remembered could be a clue about Charles, she needed to talk to her friends.

"No." the warden said again, a note of finality in his voice.

Hunching her shoulders, Alison turned back to the row of cells, heading toward her own. She told herself to hold back the tears until she was safely back in her cell. Weakness was preyed on in this place and Alison wouldn't let these people see her as weak. Alison sat on her cot and listened as the cell door scraped shut and the lock was bolted. The tears came then, and for the first time in her life, Ali felt utterly and completely helpless.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

"So, did Ali say who Charles Dilaurentis was?" Hanna asked. The three of them sat at their favorite table at The Brew. It was mid-morning and all their parents had given them excused absences from school, explaining that they needed time to recover from their ordeal. Their teachers sent home their assignments, but their textbooks and notebooks lay unopened on the table in front of them. They didn't really feel much up to doing homework, not with Spencer still missing and A on the lam.

It was a miracle that their parents allowed them to come out today. But since Hanna and Aria were released from the hospital last night, they thought that the girls deserved a bit of fresh air...and coffee. Hanna also thought the ankle monitors played a factor in their decision as well. She gave Caleb a smile as he sat down next to her, handing her a cup. His fingers grazed her shoulder and slid down her back, stopping to rest lightly on her hip.

Emily sighed, "She didn't recognize the name and I felt like she was telling me the truth." She picked a piece of blueberry of her muffin and immediately dropped it onto the plate.

"She could be lying to you, Em, she's done it before. Hell, she's lied to this whole town," Hanna pointed out. "She could be covering for that whacked-out mother of hers."

"I don't think so," Emily said quietly. They were quiet for a moment and then, Emily turned to Aria. The petite brunette had been silent since they arrived, sitting with her feet curled up underneath in one of the chairs. She couldn't help but notice that Aria kept glancing over at Ezra, wherever he was at the moment. Her memory had slowly come back to her, but there were still holes she was trying to make sense of.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked her friend.

Aria jumped, startled as she turned to look at her. "Oh...uh, yeah, I'm fine," Aria assured, a bit hesitantly. She offered her a smile.

"Do you want to go talk to him?" Emily suggested, glancing at Ezra.

"Oh, no, I don't think-" Aria started. She turned to look at Ezra again, then back at Emily. "Maybe it will help?"

Emily nodded, and reached forward to squeeze her friend's knee.

Taking a deep breath, Aria put down her cup of tea on the table and stood up. Ezra stood in front of one of the book cases, putting back a few books some customers have been reading. He glanced up as she approached.

"Does it say anything about me or my customers that I have more copies of _Fifty Shades of Grey_ than any other book being read?" Ezra joked, holding up a book Aria did not recognize. "What ever happened to _Jane Eyre_? _To Kill a Mockingbird_? The classics,"

"Fifty what?" Aria asked, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Uh, you know what? Never mind," Ezra said, realizing his mistake. "You're better off not knowing anyway."

Aria shrugged and turned to the rows of multicolored books of various sizes. She recognized quite a few titles of books she's read in the past, still there were a few new ones that made her fingers inch to pick them up and read them. Aria was aware that Ezra was only a few feet away, watching her. Something stirred inside that made her want to close the distance between them, but at the same time there were these dark memories of him that made her want to runaway. It was all so confusing.

Ezra cleared his through from behind her. "Ho—how have you been?" he asked her.

Aria turned back to him and smiled. "Better, I've gotten a lot of memories back," she explained. "But a lot of the more recent ones are all jumbled up and I'm still trying to sort them out."

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know," Ezra told her. "I've always cared about you and I always will."

"I know," Aria said. "I remember us, Ezra, I do. But you've also done something horrible and I don't know how I'm supposed to feel now. Did I forgive you?"

Ezra sighed, running a hand down his face. "All I can tell you, Aria, is that I am very sorry," he replied. "If I could take it all back, I would. I regret that I hurt you, but I love you so much and all I-" Ezra stopped, not wanting to overwhelm her.

Aria didn't know what to say, she licked her lips. She opened her mouth to say something, when someone at the counter caught her eye. It was Jason. He hadn't seen her yet, but Aria could tell by his slumped posture and the weary look on his face that he wasn't doing too good. "Something's wrong," she said.

Ezra turned his head and saw who she was looking at. Something passed over his face, but Aria couldn't tell what it was. "Do you want to go talk to him?" he asked her, nodding over toward Jason.

Aria wasn't sure if she should or not, but by the time she looked back over, the decision was already made for her. Jason was picking up his cup of coffee he'd just bought, stuffing his wallet into his back pocket and hurried out the door. Aria looked back at Ezra with a puzzled expression on her face, she shook her head then, deciding to worry about it later.

"I should get back to my friends," Aria said, giving him a smile.

Ezra started to nod, when the door of The Brew flew open and Toby strode in. He was wearing his police uniform and he walked purposefully toward her table. She shared a look with Ezra and they both followed him over. A hush fell over her friends when they saw Toby and they sat up straighter. Aria's heart started thudding hard in anticipation to what Toby had to say. It had to be something important, the police had to have found something, that's the only reason why Toby would be here.

"Toby, what's happened?" Emily was the first person to ask what was on all their minds.

"We have a lead on where Charles could be hiding Spencer and Mona," Toby said, he paused, glancing around at everyone, letting them digest the news before he continued. Everyone started talking at once just then, asking where and how. Toby held up a hand to quiet them all down and it worked. Everybody stared up at him, waiting for him to speak.

"He's at Radley Sanitarium,"

* * *

 **A/N:** Yay, we know where Charles is at now! Will Toby be able to rescue Spencer in time? Please review to find out! :)


	7. Only A Breath Away

**A/N:** Hey guys, I've been getting so much for support this story with all the followers and favorites I've been getting. But I don't get a whole lot of reviews. I want to hear from all of you, tell me what you liked, disliked, what you want to see more of. You don't have to write an essay, just a sentence or two. I am also so sorry that it's taken so long to get this chapter up, I'm really trying to post faster. But anyway, please enjoy this chapter. :)

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

 **Only A Breath Away**

The gun shook slightly as Toby loaded it and clicked the safety on. He shoved it back into his holster at his hip and covered his face with his hands. His breath came out long and shaky. Toby didn't know why he was so nervous, this was what he'd been waiting for. They finally know where the sick son-of-a-bitch was and he was finally going to bring Spencer home. But he couldn't stop himself from thinking about what kind of condition she would be in. There was a reason why Charles let the other girls go and kept her. Toby dropped his hands and swallowed hard, trying not to think the worse.

"You ready?" his partner, Lorenzo, asked as he walked up. He wore an anxious grin like he always got when they were about to go out on a call. It quickly dissipated, though, when he saw Toby's expression. "Hey, are you okay?"

Toby nodded quickly, "Yeah, I'm just ready to go already."

"Well, then, I come bearing good news," Lorenzo said, trying for a smile. "Tanner's received word from Jeremy and Kyle. They've secured the area surrounding Radley and they even discovered a dark nondescript car hidden in the back. It's a very real possibility that Charles is still there. Tanner wants all available officers to report to Radley now."

"Ok, let's go," Toby replied, and he started walking to the door. Lorenzo grabbed his arm before he could pass him, though.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay doing this?" he asked his friend, and partner. "I mean, you're pretty close to this case and we don't know what to expect inside that place... Are you sure you're going to be able to handle-"

"I'll be fine," Toby interrupted, a bit too sharply.

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds, both trying to figure the other one out. Finally, Lorenzo nodded and they both headed out of the station. Truthfully, Toby wasn't sure if he was prepared for what they might find. He had first taken this job to protect Spencer and so far, he had failed miserably. Toby would never forgive himself if anything happened to her.

Lorenzo started the engine of their police cruiser as Toby climbed into the passenger seat. His hands were shaking too much to drive and he'd probably just drive them into a ditch from speeding too much anyway. Lorenzo turned on the siren as he pulled out onto the street. Toby gripped the edge of the dashboard, telling himself to calm down and, at the same time, willing the car to go faster. The line of police cruisers lit up the once still night, their sirens piercing. All the while, Toby had only one thought repeating over and over in his head.

 _I'm coming, Spencer._

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Spencer awoke to fingers sliding through her hair. She unconsciously leaned into them, a small sigh escaping her lips. Spencer wasn't even sure if this was real or, if it was, how he even got here. She didn't care, though, Toby was here and she was finally safe. Spencer suddenly had the urge to look into his beautiful blue eyes and to have him tell her that everything was going to be okay. She opened her eyes, but she could only see part of his leg from where she was laying. Before she could move, however, he started talking.

"I know you don't think so," It wasn't Toby, the voice was deeper and smoother. "But you are safer here with me, than you would be out there."

Charles was in the room with her, her head was in his lap. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to move, to get as far away from him as she could. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that Charles didn't know she was awake, at least he wasn't acting like he knew. If Spencer jumped up and tried to make a break for it, Charles would be on her before she could make it to the door. With her hands still bound behind her, she wouldn't get very far anyway.

"I never wanted any of this to happen," Charles continued, his hand resting lightly on the back of her head. Spencer tried not to cringe away from his touch and kept her body relaxed, her breathing even. "No one understands..."

Charles was right; she couldn't understand. How could he justify kidnapping and torturing five girls? Nothing he could say would make Spencer feel sorry for him. But a part of her was curious to know why he was doing all this and if she stayed still long enough he just may tell her. All she had to do was just clamp down on her revulsion of his touch and focus on what he was saying.

"It wasn't until the rooftop that I started to see her for what she really was," Charles said. "She told me it was an accident and I believed her. I've never had a friend before and I thought she was only looking out for me. I was wrong, Spencer, very wrong."

Spencer wasn't going to feel sorry for him. He'd been doing this for years, he know just what to say. Charles wanted her to believe that he was a victim just as much as she was. Spencer didn't know Bethany or the dynamic between them, but she did know that Charles had a choice. He chose to participate in this sick, twisted game. It was him who was responsible for everything Spencer and her friends have gone through.

"You have to trust me, Spencer," Charles said, after a moment of silence. "It's imperative that you do, if you want to stay alive."

Charles leaned over her again and Spencer held her breath, afraid that he would figure out that she wasn't really sleeping. She heard a hard snick and then suddenly her arms fell free. Spencer didn't know what to think of his sudden show of kindness. Why would he release her restraints? Suddenly, Spencer didn't want to stick around to find out, she decided she would take her chances. She waited until Charles leaned back against the wall and then, she made her move.

Spencer only got to the door when Charles grabbed her. His arms encompassed her in a bear hug, pinning her own arms to her side. She opened her mouth to scream, yell, or something, but he clamped his hand down on her mouth before she could, his fingers digging into her cheek.

"Bad move, Spencer," he whispered low and menacing in her ear.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Toby stared up at the brick building in front of him and took a deep breath. The last time he was here, he was pretending to help Mona to try and unmask this creature. Now, they were on the verge of capturing him, but more importantly, he was here for Spencer. She was somewhere in this building, hopefully unharmed, and he wasn't leaving until he found her. Lorenzo appeared next to him with a look of concern on his face.

"Ready?" he asked him.

Toby nodded, not trusting himself to speak. They started walking slowly toward the front door of Radley. There were already two other officers inside, Tanner had wanted to only send in a few men at a time, so as to not spook Charles. So far, they've gotten clearance on the first two floors, he and Lorenzo would go up to the third and fourth floors. The door was already open when they crept through into the lobby. They walked on either side of the hallway, guns low and ready.

They encountered no one all the way to the third floor that Toby started to get the sinking feeling that they've been led astray again. The once immaculate floor was covered with dust and there was paper scattered down the hallway, like everyone had left in a hurry. They kept the same positions as they made their way down the hallway, pushing open the doors along the way. All the rooms were empty and there were no signs that they were occupied recently. The farther they walked, the more fear squeezed around Toby's heart. Spencer had to be here.

"I think we got something," Lorenzo said, when they reached the middle of the hallway. His hand was still hovered over the door he'd just pushed open. Toby started walking over to him, unable to keep his hopes down. When Toby peeked in, he saw two laptops and a few small gadgets on a table in the middle of the room. Lorenzo put his gun back into his holster and stepped into the room.

Everything after that seemed to happen so fast that Toby almost missed it. Lorenzo was knocked to the floor and then, a woman in a red coat shoved Toby up against the door frame and took off running down the hallway. Toby didn't miss a beat, he fired off two shots. They bounced off the walls, missing the woman completely. He started after her and that's when there was a crash from somewhere above him. Toby looked down the hall in time to see the flash of the red coat disappear around the corner.

"I'll follow her, you go see what's going on up there," Lorenzo said, breathlessly, appearing next to Toby. He didn't wait for Toby to answer, he took off running down the hallway, gun drawn again. "I'll radio for back up!"

Toby watched him disappear around the corner too, then he took off running in the opposite direction. His feet pounded against the metal stairs and he worried that whoever was up there would hear him coming. He pushed his legs to go faster. Toby came out of the stairwell into a nearly identical hallway as downstairs. He craned his ears for where the crashing may have come from, but everything was eerily quiet.

"Hello?" Toby called out. "Is there somebody here?!"

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Spencer was yanked backward against the wall behind the door, before she fully realized it was heavy footsteps she was hearing. Somebody else was in the building and by the way Charles was reacting it wasn't any friend of his. She was aware that her back was flush against him and he held her so tightly, there was no wiggle room. Spencer hoped that whoever was out there, found her quickly before Charles decided to cut his losses. Her heart started to beat faster when she saw the sweep of a flashlight out in the hallway.

"Not a word, Spencer," Charles hissed into her ear. A shiver raced down her spine when she felt his warm breath against her skin. "Or your friends will pay the price. My friend is still out there, and she'll be all too eager to take her revenge."

Neither one of them said anything after that. They both stood silently, watching the flashlight bob closer and closer. It had to be the police, no one else would casually stroll into this closed down building, once a psychiatric hospital. Above the squeak of one of the other doors, Spencer thought she heard a voice call out. It was still too faraway and muffled for her to hear what it said or place it. A brief thought of that Toby could be somewhere in the building, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind. She didn't want to think of him in a dangerous situation.

The flashlight stopped just then and Charles tightened his arms around her. His fingers pressed deep into her cheek and hip. Spencer blinked back the tears, needing to stay aware of her surroundings. In this precarious situation, anything could change and she had to be ready. By the time, Spencer looked back at the small window in the door, the flashlight was gone. She felt her last hope die, but Charles was still alert and tense. She strained to hear what he was hearing, but she couldn't. Then, she saw it.

The door handle was moving, turning. At first, Spencer thought she was seeing things until Charles shoved her aside and lunged at the door. Spencer managed to keep her balance and when she turned around, she realized that Charles wasn't wearing his mask and his hood had fallen off his head. She could only see a small piece of his profile from the way he was hunched over, keeping the door closed. Though, it didn't stop her from seeing all the same features as Jason, and for a second, Spencer almost thought it was Jason, but then she remembered his voice, Charles' voice, and it was more refined, but with a hard edge to it. His short blonde hair stood up everywhere and when he glanced at her, she could see his clear blue eyes, even through the darkness.

There was shouting outside the door now and Spencer could see that Charles was losing his grip on the door. Spencer wasn't sure what to do. When the door opened, would she be able to get out before Charles could grab her again? Almost as if he read her mind, Charles looked at her and pulled a pocket knife out. With an audible snick, he pointed the knife at her.

"I don't want to do this, Spencer," Charles said, desperation laced his voice.

"Then, don't," Spencer told him, fear making her heart beat harder. "There's another way."

It looked like Charles started to falter, but then the door flew open. Charles was next to her in a flash, his grip iron-tight against her, the knife at her throat. It took Spencer a moment to realize that it was Toby standing there, gun drawn. A mix of relief, joy, and terror went through, especially when she saw that he was alone.

"Drop the knife and let her go!" Toby ordered, his voice was calm and steady, even though, his eyes glinted with worry and fear for her.

"No,"Charles said so simply and matter-of-factly, that Spencer would have laughed if she wasn't being held at knife-point. "Now, how about we do things my way?" She swallowed hard when the cold steel of the blade touched the sensitive skin of her throat.

"You're going to put the gun down and move out of my way," Charles continued, his voice was now hard and demanding. There was no sign of the Charles that was here before, there was only the the guy behind the mask she's always known. "Or I'll slit her throat and you can watch her bleed out right here."

Spencer tried to plead to Toby with her eyes not to give in to Charles, but as she did she knew it was futile. Toby would never risk her life more than it already was. So, she wasn't surprised when Toby raised his hands and then, slowly lowered the gun to the floor. When Charles told him to kick it away, Toby did just that. Spencer closed her eyes in defeat, not knowing how they were going to get out of this.

"I did as you asked," Toby said. "Now, let her go."

Spencer opened her eyes when she felt Charles' chest vibrate with laughter. "You actually think I'm going to let my sister go with you? I don't think so." he replied.

"You won't get away with this," Toby warned him. "We have the whole police force downstairs right now. You're game is over, the only way you're leaving this place is in handcuffs."

"It's never been _my_ game," Charles corrected. "And I believe, I will walk away from this place with my freedom intact. You see, the police have a strong protocol when it comes to hostages. I don't they want anything to happen to this beauty right here, do you?"

"I swear, if you hurt her..." Toby growled.

"I'm not the one you need to worry about!" Charles snapped, startling both Spencer and Toby. "When are you going to get that, all I've been trying to do is protect my sisters!"

"Ok, but do you really think you'll be able to protect your sisters if you're behind bars?" Toby tried again, deciding to switch tactics. "Because that's exactly where you'll be if you don't drop the weapon."

They were both in a stalemate, neither one of them budging in their position. Spencer didn't know what Charles was thinking, but she could guess that he was trying to figure out whether he could take the risk and drag her out the front of the building to the waiting police or just cut his losses and let her go. Then, she had the painful reminder of the knife at her neck and wondered if he was forced to, would Charles actually use it? He had been so adamant on protecting her earlier, but how many times had he put her friends and herself at risk.

"Toby, are you up here?" It was Lorenzo.

He sounded close, yet far away. Even though, Spencer couldn't see him, she felt the panicked look cross Charles' face, by the tensing of his muscles. Toby must have seen it too, because he called, "I'm in here! I found them!" He never took his eyes off of Charles.

Charles sprang into action after that, shoving Spencer away and running to the window. He had opened it and was halfway out before either one of them could react. "NO!" Spencer yelled, lunging forward, when Charles launched himself from the window. They both ran to it, but there was no sign of a body, dead or alive. Lorenzo arrived then and looked between both of them, confusedly.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"He escaped," Toby explained, pointing toward the window. "Just now, go inform the others, he couldn't have gotten far."

Lorenzo didn't miss a beat, he spun on his heel and disappeared through the doorway.

"Toby," Spencer whispered, her voice barely audible, and her hand touching his elbow. Toby turned around right away, his arms enveloping her. She curled her fists into the front of his shirt and buried her face into the side of his neck.

"Baby," Toby breathed into her hair, his hands sliding from her back to her shoulder-blades and down again, almost as if he couldn't get a solid enough hold on her. "I found you, I finally found you."

"I always knew you would," Spencer said. She pulled her head up to look at him. "I tried to stay positive, but there were times when I thought, what if I died before you got here? My only regret would've been that I didn't tell you how I felt more often. I love you, Toby, I do, with all my heart."

"I love you, too," Toby replied, tears glistening in his eyes as his hands came up to frame her face. "I was so afraid...I don't know what I would have done if I lost you."

"Well, you don't have to find out," Spencer told him. "Because I'm not going anywhere."

Their lips met in a slow, tantalizing kiss. Spencer savored the kiss, the way his soft lips moved with hers and the way his body felt pressed against her own. This is what she wanted the rest of her life to be like, to feel safe and loved. With Toby by her side, she knew she had that. The kiss broke off just then, but Toby wasn't done yet. He placed four fast, chaste kisses on her mouth and a wide smile split her face.

"Forever," Toby said, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Forever."

* * *

 **A/N:** Spoby's reunited, but Charles escaped! What will happen next? Review, if you want to know what happens. :)


	8. A Not Quite Dead Body

**A/N:** Thank you again for all the lovely reviews! I'll keep this short, so you can just read the chapter. :)

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

 **A Not Quite Dead Body**

The living room of the Hastings household was quiet, each mom sipping coffee from their cups and lost in their own thoughts. They had wanted their daughters to be with Spencer after her ordeal, but none of them were too keen on letting their daughters out of their sights with Charles still on the loose. Of course, the girls weren't happy about it, but their desire to see their friend overrode any anger they'd felt. Spencer hadn't said much when Toby brought her home last night, she'd seemed tired and worn out. Veronica had thought it would do her some good to see her friends today and she had seemed more like herself this morning.

"I can't believe he escaped last night," Ella Montgomery said incredulously, setting her cup down on the coffee table. "I can't believe the police _let_ him escape."

"Well, don't pout for too long," Veronica replied, from her place over by the mantle. She turned around to face the other moms. "Because the police know _who_ to look for now."

"Wait, they identified him?" Ashley Marin questioned.

Veronica nodded. "Both Spencer and Toby saw him," she explained. "And let me tell you, I got a look at the sketch and he looks almost exactly like Jason Dilaurentis."

"So Charles is really Jason?" Ashley asked, leaning forward while trying to make sense of this new information.

"No, he's not," Veronica corrected her. She came around the couch to face the others. "There were similarities, but there were also differences. Like brothers, twins even."

"So, Jason has a twin brother," Ella stated, obviously. "How is that no one has ever know an extra Dilaurentis child, let alone a twin of a boy we've seen grow up?"

"There are so many secrets in that house, it could fill an entire book," Veronica said, and looked out the back door of the house, as if she could see all the way inside the Dilaurentis house.

They all lapsed into silence, all lost in their own thoughts. Knowing that this person could have grown up in the house right near their girls made it all worse somehow. Who knew how long he had been obsessed with them? And how many more times did he have to elude the police before they finally caught him? Their daughters would not be safe until that monster was behind bars for life.

"So, besides finally having a face, do the police have any more leads on where Charles could have gone?" Ella asked the question that was probably on everyone's minds.

"Not that I've heard," Pam answered, shaking her head. "Of course, I'm not one of the higher-ups, so they don't really tell me anything."

"But Toby did mention last night that they're no longer looking for one person anymore," Veronica said, her eyes lighting up as she remembered something. "There was a woman in a red coat there, at Radley, with Charles." They all looked up at her, wearing the same horrified expressions on their faces. The new-found truth burning brightly in front of them; it wasn't just one person doing this to their daughters, it was two.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Spencer lay in her bed with her friends surrounding her, feeling glad to be back in her own home. Safe and loved in her own bed, out of reach of anyone who could hurt her. She fingered the edge of her comforter, she'd just finished telling her friends about what happened while she was at Radley. They seemed to have taken it in stride, but now Spencer saw questions arise in their eyes. She sat up and crossed her legs.

"So, according to him, all the texts, and all the threats," Aria was the first to speak from her perch at the end of the bed. "That was him protecting us?"

Spencer nodded, though she had trouble believing it herself. "That's what he was saying," She shrugged, not sure what else to say.

"Wow, he's even crazier than we thought, then," Hanna muttered, dropping a lip stick she'd been playing with onto Spencer's bureau and turning around to face them.

Spencer watched her and then, cleared her throat. "Yeah, anyway, he also kept referring to a she and I saw her," she added.

"Wait, Charles has somebody else helping him?!" Emily said in disbelief, leaning onto the bed post. "Who?"

"I think it's Bethany," Spencer replied, watching them carefully. "When they were in the room together, Charles called her Beth. There's really no other explanation."

"As in Bethany Young?'" Aria questioned. "But the police identified the body in Ali's grave as hers. I don't..."

"Charles has done a lot of impossible things, I think tampering with a little DNA test would be a cake walk for him," Spencer said.

"But why?" Emily asked. "What does he have to gain by making us think that Bethany is dead when she's not?"

"I don't know," Spencer admitted. "But what if he was protecting us from her, Bethany? When I was there in that room, I got the feeling that he didn't trust her."

"So, maybe he wasn't the one to fake the test," Hanna suggested, and everyone turned to look at her. "What? Spence just said that she got the major willies with that girl. It makes sense."

"I don't think I said just like that, but Hanna does have point," Spencer agreed, receiving a smug look from Hanna. "But then, that means there is another girl dead. Who is she?"

They were all silent for a moment, all processing this new information. Spencer knew that it was a lot, she was stilling trying to figure out the dynamic between Charles and Bethany and now there was another innocent girl who got caught in the middle of all this. They'd seemed friendly toward each other, but Spencer had clearly felt a tension between them, mostly coming from Charles.

"So, which one is the more dangerous one?" Hanna asked, speaking the fear Spencer had been trying not to think of since last night. Spencer shrugged, knowing that wasn't the right answer.

"We should probably let you get some rest," Aria said after that. "Have you talked to Toby yet today?"

"Just in a few texts," Spencer replied. "He's finishing up at work and then he said he'll call."

"We'll let you get some rest, then," Emily said.

Her friends said their good-byes and wished her well, and then, Spencer was alone with her crazy thoughts and theories. She lied down on her pillow and turned onto her side, wanting to shut off her brain her a little while.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

The truck sat on the side of the street, near the park, but neither one of them really felt like getting out. Their arms were around each other with their faces pressed together as if the other was their only air source. It was like if they let go, they would disappear and be all alone again. The kiss itself was like its' own entity; tasting and devouring them, merging two beings into one. There were hands in hair, lips on skin, and passion, so much passion.

Spencer didn't know where her body ended and his began, nor did she care. All she cared about was the truck was way too small and she suddenly wished they were somewhere, anywhere else. Her bedroom, his apartment, anywhere but this tiny bench seat. Spencer tried to pull him down closer to her, but her leg hit the center console, knocking her a bit off balance. Groaning into her mouth, Spencer said,

"You need a bigger car."

Suddenly, Spencer wished she hadn't said anything, because after that, Toby broke the kiss and pulled away. "I'm sorry, I didn't pick you up so I could attack you like that," he said, smiling a little.

"Hey, I wasn't complaining," Spencer grinned at him, her hand sliding up his arm. Like two magnets, they were drawn together, the space between them disappearing again. Toby's lips were soft when they touched hers, and then, suddenly, they were gone.

"This is ridicules," Toby mumbled, then he looked up at her, his breaths coming in short gasps. "We need to get a grip on ourselves."

"You're right," Spencer nodded and she scooted over to the far side of the truck. Toby looked like he didn't like the sudden distance between them and Spencer felt a bit of satisfaction at that. He cleared his throat and wiped his hands on his jeans.

"So, how's the search on Charles?" Spencer asked, glancing out the side window, where a mother and a young boy were leaving the park in a hurry.

"You know I can't talk about open cases," Toby said.

Spencer turned back to look at him, not wanting to get into this same, old argument with him. "Toby, we were both in that room, I am a part of this whether you like it or not," she told him gently.

"I know," Toby sighed, staring out the windshield. Finally, he looked at her. "Charles has somebody working with him." he admitted, though, of course, Spencer already knew that. "Lorenzo and I saw her run out of a room full of technical equipment, right before I found you."

"Oh,"

"Oh? You don't sound surprised," Toby said, a bit confused.

Spencer thought about not telling him, but she was tired of all the secrets and she just wanted all this to be over. "Because I saw her too," she confessed. "She came into the room once. Toby, I think she's Bethany Young."

"Spencer, Bethany's dead," Toby corrected her. "She was the body in Alison's grave."

"I don't think so," Spencer said, her voice quiet.

"We had an autopsy and a DNA test performed on the body," Toby replied, though there was a tone in his voice that suggested that maybe, possibly, it wasn't true. "Why are you so convinced that it's not Bethany?"

"Because, Charles called her Beth," Spencer explained. "And I know that it's not really any proof, but I just have this feeling I'm right. Toby, please say you believe me."

Toby reached across the seat and took her hand, from where it was resting on the worn fabric of the seat. "Of course, I believe you," he assured her.

Before he could say anything else, the police radio sitting on the dashboard crackled to life. Spencer could only make out a few garbled words, 'park' and 'situation ongoing' among them. Toby picked up the radio and held it up to his ear, listening intently. By the time he put the radio back down, his face was somber. He ignored her when she asked him about it, instead Toby reached over and pulled his police badge and gun from the glove compartment.

"Toby's what's going on?" Spencer repeated.

"There's something going down in the park," Toby finally said, vaguely. "Spencer, please stay in the truck."

Spencer had every intention to listen to him as he ran across the street toward the park. Even though every part of her was on edge, desperate to know what was happening over there. She could now hear the police sirens and she saw the sudden influx of people being escorted from the park. Spencer leaned forward, hoping to see something, even though she knew she was too far away to see anything. Then, she noticed something was different in the crowd in front of her.

A man in a black hoodie walked fast through the crowd, his head down. Everything thing about him screamed suspicious and before Spencer knew it, she was standing outside the truck. She thought about calling out to him, but thought better of it. He started running and, not wanting to lose him, she started chasing after him. It was hard to keep pace with him once she was in the crowd, but she could just see the top of his hooded-head. He weaved in and out of the mass of people and then Charles ducked down a side alley.

Spencer increased her pace and nearly ran into someone in her haste, receiving a nasty look from the woman. By the time she righted herself, Charles was gone. The crowd dispersed quickly and Spencer spun around in circles trying to see which way Charles had went. She jumped back when an ambulance sped past her, it's sirens blaring, and stopped near the park's entrance.

"Spencer!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the hand came down suddenly on her shoulder and she spun around with a gasp. Toby stood in front, looking just as startled as she was.

"I told you to stay in the truck," he told her.

"I just thought I saw something," Spencer said, unable to prevent herself from glancing over her shoulder. "What happened?"

Toby seemed to steel himself before saying whatever he was about to. "We just found a body," he told her, his hands going to her shoulders. "It's Mona."

* * *

 **A/N:** Finally, we get to see what happened to Mona. I know a few of you have been asking about her. Please review, if you want more! :)


	9. An Unforgettable Night

**A/N:** Nothing much to say, just that I'm sorry I kept you all waiting so long. This chapter should be a pretty interesting chapter for all of you. :) Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

 **An Unforgettable Night**

"'An Unforgettable Night' really? Could we be any more cliché?" Hanna questioned as she and the rest of her friends stood in the hallway of Rosewood High, the midnight-blue banner hanging above them. The lettering was white with a black silhouette of a couple dancing in the bottom corner and there were silver stars all over the background. "Someone obviously went a little crazy with the glitter, too. Seriously, who would go to that?"

"It's the prom, Hanna, every high-schooler's dream," Aria muttered, thumbing through the notebook she carried, so she wouldn't have to look at the banner.

"Everybody except us," Emily added, bitterly. "Because we don't have enough credits to go."

"Yeah, since when do we have to pay to go to the prom, it's ludicrous," Hanna said. "It's a free school, why should we have to pay for prom." She shook her head as if the whole thing mystified her.

"Hanna, it's school credits, you earn them for each class you take and you need a certain amount to graduate," Spencer explained, staring at her friends. "And school isn't free, your mom pays taxes for you-" She broke off, when she realized Hanna wasn't paying attention.

Spencer looked back up at the banner, wishing that for just a moment she was a normal teenager, who was excited about prom. Before this whole A situation started, Spencer's whole life was school. She was all about getting good grades, so that she could get into an Ivy League University. Now, she didn't even know where or what she'll be doing next fall. Sighing, Spencer turned back to her open locker and pulled out her useless, heavy calculus textbook. The locker clanged shut as she turned back to her friends.

"It's just as well anyway," Spencer said, giving the banner a last look. "I wouldn't have been able to enjoy myself at some high school dance with Charles _and Bethany_ still out there."

"Yeah, I'm just a little wistful, I guess," Aria reluctantly agreed. Emily reached over and touched her petite friend's shoulder.

"We all are," Emily offered her a small smile. Just then, the first bell rang, signaling that all students should be, if they're not already, in their respective classrooms. The four friends started walking down the hallway, shoulders just barely touching out of comfort.

"Well, I'm not," Hanna spoke aloud when they reached the split in the hallway. "I, for one, am glad that I won't have to put on a too tight, ridiculously expensive gown, that I'll only wear once. Instead, I can curl up on the couch with all the pizza and ice cream I can eat, while still spending the night with my totally hot boyfriend."

They all couldn't resist the smiles and laughter that escaped them as they went their own separate ways. Hanna was right; they shouldn't wallow in the things that couldn't be. Senior prom was for only one night, but their friendship was forever.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Aria took a deep breath when she stepped off the landing of the apartment building and walked up to the first dark wooden door she came to. She didn't even know what she was doing here, just that she didn't want to sit at home with her parents on prom night. All her friends were doing something with their guys and she just wanted to do...something. Aria raised her fist to the door, but let it float in the air in front of it for a minute. Before she could talk herself out of it, Aria knocked three short raps on the door. It took a second, but then she heard soft footfalls on the other side of the door.

The door clicked open and then, there he was, standing before her. He wore a t-shirt and sweatpants, his feet were bare. His hair was disheveled and his blue eyes seemed to take her in slowly, almost like he couldn't believe she was really there. Aria suddenly felt overdressed in her dark skinny jeans, white flowy top and cream sweater. She stood there in her black, high-heel boots, biting her lip, not sure what to say.

"Hi. I'm sorry, we're you asleep, I didn't mean—I just wanted-" Aria stumbled through the words not really sure what she was trying to say. Finally, she started to turn away. "I should just go."

"No, wait, wait," Ezra said quickly, grabbing a hold of her arm to stop her. He let go, however, when she turned back to him. "Please come in."

He stepped back to allow her entrance and Aria stepped in, giving him a grateful smile. As soon as she stepped into the apartment, Aria felt a sense of familiarity about it. She'd been in here before, a lot. As she looked around the room, specific memories came to mind. When she came to the bed, a blush crept onto her cheeks and she hoped Ezra didn't notice. Aria quickly looked away and her heart nearly skipped a beat when she saw him walking straight for her. Though, at the last second, Ezra moved around her started clearing some books and papers from the couch, so that they could sit down.

"So, how have you been feeling?" Ezra asked her, tossing a book with gold lettering onto the coffee table, and then looking at her. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm fine," Aria answered, giving a smile. She hesitated and then sat down on the couch. Ezra sat, too, leaving a respectful space between them. "I'm sorry for just barging in like this, it's—well, it's prom night, and...I didn't want to be alone, I guess."

"Aria, it's fine, but you're not going to prom?" Ezra asked her. "I thought it was a rite of passage for high school, or has that changed since I went?" He cracked a smile, but Aria just barely returned it.

"I didn't have enough credits to go," Aria answered. "Which is just as well, I don't think I would have been able to enjoy myself with everything that's happening."

"Well, I'm glad you came over," Ezra said truthfully, leaning forward and putting his hand on her leg. Aria's heart did a little flip in her chest when he touched her and she glanced down at his hand, then back up at him.

"Yeah, I actually wanted to talk about us," Aria said shyly. He quickly withdrew his hand, almost like he'd overstepped. Aria suddenly wanted to grab his hand and put it back, but she didn't.

"Oh?" Ezra replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

Aria took a deep breath. "I don't remember the details about our relationship, and I know that most of it was just you using me," She could tell he was about say something, to assure her that his feelings were real, but she held up a hand to stop him. "I know you love me and I believe that your feelings are true, but the pain is still there. It's like the band-aid was pulled off and all those feelings and the pain are fresh again. It will take me awhile to trust you again."

"I will never stop trying to be worthy of that trust," Ezra promised her, and this time, he didn't stop himself from putting his hand on her cheek, his thumb stroking just below her eye. Aria closed her eyes just for a moment, reveling in his touch.

"The one thing that stands out in my mind is that I've never felt as happy and safe than I did when I was with you," Aria continued, after she opened her eyes. "I love you, Ezra, and I want to give this, us, another chance."

Ezra didn't say anything, instead he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. Aria responded right away, pressing deep into him. The kiss was electric and wanting, leaving her with an ache she was desperate to fill. Her sweater slipped off her shoulders as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ezra broke off the kiss only to press his lips at the corner of her mouth and along her jaw. Then, suddenly, Aria was flying through the air and it took her a second, to realize that Ezra had picked her up in one fast, fluid motion.

He placed her on the bed and stood back up, awaiting her permission. When she nodded, Ezra picked up her leg, pulling the zipper of her boot down. Aria felt chills race down her spine as he pulled the boot off tantalizingly slowly and then, did the same to the other. When both boots were discarded on the floor, Ezra climbed up onto the bed as Aria scooted back toward the pillows. Their lips crashed together like two hungry lions, entrancing each other, devouring each other. Soon, their shirts were gone, Aria having no idea where it went, but she didn't care.

They lay, skin to skin, Ezra placing kisses down her neck and chest. Her stomach fluttered when his lips touched just above her belly button. When he snapped open the button of her jeans, heat spread through her and her breaths came out in shallow gasps. His fingers hooked around the edges of her jeans, pulling them down, and Aria couldn't take it anymore. Aria grasped his shoulders and pulled him back up to her, pressing her lips to his. She felt him smiling against her mouth and she knew that he was aware of just what he does to her.

"I love you so much," Ezra whispered, his breaths coming in gasps just like hers. When their lips met this time, the kiss was slower, not as hectic as before. They took their time now, reveling in each other. She wanted to savor this moment, wanting to lock it in her mind until next time. Because there would be a next time. Aria wanted this to work, she was in one hundred percent. And she could feel it as he kissed her that he did too.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Hanna watched from the kitchen table as her boyfriend poured the uncooked pasta into the pot of boiling water. She sipped water from a tall glass, pretending it was wine and it was ten years later. They would have their own apartment somewhere, maybe New York, and she would have finished up work at a fashion magazine for the night. He would have beaten her home and surprised her with dinner. It would be one of many nights they shared together.

"What are you smiling about over there?" the sound of Caleb's voice brought her back to the present. He was stirring the noodles around in the hot water and looking at her, with a smile of his own on his face.

"Just wondering, where you learned to be an amazing chef?" Hanna blushed, putting her chin in her hand, thinking there was no possible way he could know what she was just daydreaming.

"My mom taught me a few things when I was in Montecito, but I wouldn't call myself a chef," Caleb shrugged off the compliment. She knew he didn't like receiving compliments, that's why she did it.

"You're right, I have some other words to describe you," Hanna said, playfully.

"Someone's in a good mood for missing her prom," Caleb replied, setting the wooden spoon down on the counter. Hanna grinned and stood up from her chair.

"Who cares about prom?" Hanna said, walking over to the counter. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm over that whole beauty prom queen routine. I'd much rather be here with my super hot boyfriend and watch as he makes me dinner." She leaned across the counter.

"Well, I'm glad that I could be your better substitute," Caleb replied, turning away from the stove and walking over to the counter. He leaned toward her as well and pressed his lips to hers. As she kissed him back, Hanna immediately wished the counter wasn't between them. She wanted to feel his body against hers.

"If I wasn't starving, I'd suggest we skip dinner and go upstairs," Caleb grinned, when they pulled apart.

"Well, that's good anyway, 'cause my mom is upstairs," Hanna said, bursting his bubble. "So, _that_ is out of the question." Caleb pouted, and then they shared one more kiss before they had to separate.

Caleb went back to making the dinner, in which Hanna helped, despite his protests. It was nice, the two of them working side by side on a Friday night. Of course, it was all too close to Hanna's daydream and now, she desperately wanted it to come true. With her help, dinner was ready in half the time it would've took if Caleb had finished it by himself.

Hanna didn't protest though, when he made her sit down at the candlelit table and insisted on bringing the food to her. She smiled when he placed the plate of spaghetti down in front of her and mocked bowed. He even added a quick "My lady", to which Hanna couldn't help but giggle. She nodded when he asked if she wanted some cheese sprinkled on top. Hanna waited until he had gotten his plate and sat down across from her before she picked up her fork.

"This is so good, Caleb," Hanna gushed, after she swallowed her first bite. "Seriously, if hacking doesn't work out for you, you should definitely consider going into the culinary arts."

"All I did was pour a box of already made noodles into water," Caleb shrugged off her compliment, laughing. Though, he was pleased that his efforts paid off; all he ever wanted was to make her proud of him.

"Modesty will take you far," Hanna said around another bite of spaghetti, and pointing her fork at him. Caleb grinned and shook his head at her, but reached across the table to take her hand.

They ate in companionable silence after that, feeling no need to fill it with words. If someone had told Hanna three years ago that she would be spending her senior prom in her kitchen, eating spaghetti, she would have laughed in their face. She has changed so much from the person she used to be and for the first time in her life, she was actually happy with who she was now. Hanna squeezed Caleb's hand she was still holding and he looked up at her. She smiled at him.

"What?" Caleb asked, confused. He started to reach his hand up, thinking that he had sauce on his face.

Hanna shook her head, laughing a little. "I just...thank you for doing this," she said. "I couldn't imagine anything more. I am so lucky to have you."

"No," Caleb countered, putting his fork down and reached across the table to take her other hand as well. " _I'm_ the one who's lucky to have _you_."

Hanna didn't want to argue with him over this, so she just said, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Caleb replied, and Hanna's chest filled with love. She was where she wanted to be, and nowhere else.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

"Spencer, get over here!" Toby called from where he sat on the couch in her living room. "You're missing the movie!"

The microwave beeped just then and Spencer yanked open the door, then pulled out the bag of popcorn, hissing as the intense heat nearly burned her. Opening the bag carefully, Spencer poured the steaming popcorn into the blue, plastic bowl. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" Spencer called back as she picked up the bowl and hurried back to the living room.

She placed the bowl down on the coffee table and then sat down on the couch, into Toby's awaiting arms. "Did I miss anything?" she asked, snuggling into him.

"Nah," Toby answered, leaning up to pick up the popcorn bowl and settle back down against the cushions. "We're still taking a tour of the cityscape with a cheesy, overused song." He tossed a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

Spencer grinned, "Well, apparently, it got great reviews from the critics and it did 'exceedingly well' at the box office." She rolled her eyes, knowing that she had only bought the movie because it had been recently released on DVD and she wanted to have a semi-normal night to replace her missing prom. Toby had even taken off work to spend the night with her, which had surprised her because he had been working nonstop ever since A slipped through the cracks...again.

She looked at the TV screen, but quickly got bored, unable to get into the movie. So, instead, Spencer looked up at Toby. "So, truthfully, did you really take the night off or did Tanner all but kick you out of the station?" she asked him suppressing a grin.

"A little of both, actually," Toby confessed, looking down at her. "It was my idea to take the night off, but Tanner was a little to enthusiastic when she agreed that it would do me some good to get out of there."

"I can't believe I'm actually going to say this, but I think she's right," Spencer said, shocking them both. She reached up and touched Toby's face. "Running yourself ragged is not going to bring Charles to justice any faster. I hate seeing you stressed and tired like this."

"I know, but we're just so close to getting him," Toby sighed, running a hand across his face. "I want to see that sick bastard pay for everything he's done to you."

"I know you do," Spencer said, her voice low. Her hand on his chin, she forced his head down, so that he had no choice but look at her. "Can we not talk about Charles right now? I want this night to be about us. Please?"

Seeing that look on Spencer's face made Toby want to do anything for her, so he obliged. He leaned down and captured her lips with his own, his arms coming around her in a protective hug. Spencer turned so that she was halfway on top of him, responding to his kiss. Her hands traveled to the back of neck, feeling the ends of his soft hair against her fingertips. Their lips parted, allowing each other access, their tongues intertwining. This kiss was slow and fast at the same time, wanting to take their time and explore each other, but also needing each other like oxygen. Spencer moaned into his mouth, her desire in complete control. His hands traveled up her back, bunching up her shirt, and sending shivers down her spine. Her mind had gone into a fog, all she could see and feel was Toby beneath her and his lips on hers.

Sometime later, Spencer woke up, the movie was still playing, but somewhere near the end. She was alone on the couch and a blanket had been placed on top of her. The popcorn bowl sat three-quarters empty on the coffee table. Spencer sat up, the blanket falling down her to waist and looked around. Toby wasn't in the living room or kitchen and there was no note on the table in front of her. Surely, Toby wouldn't have left without letting her know somehow.

"Toby?" Spencer called out.

It was after that when she thought she heard a voice come from outside. Spencer turned around and saw a shadow just outside the door, illuminated by the moonlight. Pushing the blanket all the way off, she stood up and walked over to the door. As she came closer, Spencer could see that it was Toby and he was talking on the phone. His expression was serious and she had the sudden thought that it was his work. Her hand hovered over the door handle, wanting to go outside to him, but also wanting to respect his privacy. Almost as if he felt her presence from the other side of the door, Toby turned and looked at her. He held up a finger, indicating that he'll be back inside in a minute.

Her decision made for her, Spencer turned away from the door and walked over to the door to take the movie out of the DVD player. She had just clicked the case shut when she heard the door open.

"Was that work?" Spencer asked, putting the DVD case on top of the TV.

The door clicked shut again and Toby started walking over to her. "Yes, it was," he said simply. Spencer closed her eyes, knowing what he was going to say next. "Some students were seen trying to break into the school. Most of the officers went home for the night, so I have to go and check it out."

"Of course, you do," Spencer said, trying not to feel like he was abandoning her. He was right behind her now and his arms slid around her.

"Spencer, you know I don't want to leave you, right?" he asked her.

Spencer turned around in his arms, planting a smile on her face, not wanting him to feel guilty about doing his job. "I know," she told him. "It's the reason I love you that I let you go every single time."

Toby smiled and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips. It was slow and lingering, both wanting it to last until they saw each other again. Spencer already missed him when he slipped out of her arms and picked up his coat from the back of the couch. She followed him to the door and turned to look at her when he opened it.

"I won't be long, can I call you when I'm done?" Toby asked, leaning on the door.

"I'll probably just go to bed," Spencer answered, honestly. "Call me first thing in the morning?"

"I can't wait," Toby said. He gave her a quick hug and Spencer hung on just a second longer. She watched him leave and then started to go upstairs.

Spencer had only gone up a few steps when she heard her phone buzz from over on the coffee table. She retraced her steps back to the living room, thinking it was one of her friends. The number was blocked though, when she picked up the phone, a sickening feeling of dread filled her stomach. Her heart thudded hard as she opened the text.

 **Prom's overrated, anyway, it's the after-party that everyone will be talking about.**

 **I'll be honored if you and your friends joined me.**

 **The school will never be the same again.**

She nearly dropped her phone and the pieces slowly fit into the puzzle. There were no alcohol-driven students at the school, Toby was walking into trap set by Charles. Snapping into action, Spencer grabbed her purse from the floor with her car keys inside it and ran to the door. She decided to call her friends on the way, needing to get to the school before anything horrible happened.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

"I thought you said, Toby was here?" Hanna asked as the four friends stood in front of Rosewood High School in the middle of the night.

Spencer looked around the empty street, brow furrowed in confusion. There was no sign of Toby, truck or police cruiser. "He is, or he's supposed to be," she shrugged. The lack of him was making her heart pound hard and fast. Where was he? What if she was too late and Charles already got to him?

"Could he be inside?" Emily suggested, trying to hold on to a little bit of hope.

"It's possible, but..." Again, Spencer was at a loss for the answer. Toby could have parked his car around the corner, so not to alert anyone. But why would he? For all Toby knew, this was just some kids trying to have some after-prom fun.

Suddenly, one of the doors to the school creaked open and they all whipped their heads around to look. The door all the way on the far right stood ajar, the darkness inside seeming foreboding. Spencer looked at her friends, not to ask if they should go in, but if they were ready. Aria stepped up next to her and squeezed her hand. Together, they walked in pairs up the concrete steps, knowing that once they go in things may never be the same again.

"Hello? Is there anybody here?" Aria was the first one to call out. "Toby?"

Footsteps echoed from the next hallway, slow steps, almost as if whoever it was, was waiting for them. They started walking down the hallway, keeping their eyes open for anything out of the ordinary or suspicious. The whole school was unusually silent with the exception of their shoes squeaking on the floor. When they rounded the corner, there was a dark figure standing in front of an empty classroom. All they could see from this distance was the long coat he or she was wearing.

"Charles?" Spencer stepped to the front of the group. The person didn't move or act like they heard her. "Charles is that you?"

Charles, or whoever, turned and walked into the classroom. The girls quickly ran to the classroom before he made his escape. It turned out to be one of the chemistry labs and so far, with one quick glance around, there was no one else in here. They were all aghast, knowing that they saw someone one enter the room.

"Ok, spread out," Spencer said, taking charge of the situation. "We know he's in here. He couldn't have gotten that far."

The girls spread out around the room, searching all the places a person could hide or even some kind of clue. It wasn't until Aria got the the door that led to an adjacent classroom, that she had an idea. She tugged on the handle, it was locked, but that didn't mean it had always been that way.

"Hey, Spence!" Aria called to her friend. When Spencer looked over at her, she pointed to the door. "You think maybe..." She trailed off, letting her friend fill in the blanks herself.

"It's worth a try," Spencer said and rushed to the still open door. The other three were right behind her, but the door slammed closed just as they got there. "No, no, no, no!" Spencer yanked the door handle a few times, but to no avail. It was locked.

"It was a trap!" Hanna exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. They were all thinking it, she was just the only one brave enough to say it. "And we fell for it."

"What game is he playing now, Spencer?" Aria asked.

Spencer leaned her head against the glass window, trying to figure out that exact answer to the question. While she was in Radley, Charles kept talking about wanted to protect them and keep them safe. Was that what he was doing right? But what did locking them up in a classroom at the school do? She could hear her friends calling her name, asking her what to do. But she didn't know. She didn't know.

All of a sudden, there was a loud whoosh and then a sizzle. To their horror, when they turned around, one of the Bunsen burners on a lab table had spontaneously turned on. Then, Spencer wasn't sure if the other girls saw it, but she did. The shimmer of a liquid spilled on top the table, dangerously close to the burner. She ran over and tried to turned it off. The dials spun 360 degrees, but the burner stayed lit.

"What is that?!"

"Turn it off?!"

"How did this happen?!"

The voices mixed together to the point Spencer didn't know who said what. "Alright, enough!" she yelled, her hands touching her head. In the next second, flames erupted onto the table. They leaped backward and Spencer was already reacting. She took off her sweater and threw it onto the flames. The fabric only seemed to feed it because the flames grew larger, they quickly engulfed the sweater.

"Open the windows!" Spencer hollered, sending each girl to a window.

"It's locked," each one of them took turns saying after useless attempts of trying to open the windows. The heat coming off the fire was intense and smoke was quickly filling the room.

"We have to get out of here!" Emily stated the obvious.

Just then, Spencer thought she heard someone calling her name, but none of her friends had. "Did you guys hear that?" she asked them. They shook their heads, looking at her curiously. It came again, this time closer and more frantic. She turned toward the door seeing that it was even blacker through the window than it was before, until it moved. Somebody was at the door!

Spencer sprinted for the door, yelling for help. The other girls saw what she did and followed her. She had just realized that the person didn't have a face when the door sprang open. They are piled out into the hallway, coughing and breathing in as much clean air as they could.

"Charles?" Spencer said, aft she'd regained her senses. They all stared at him. He had saved them. Spencer glanced at her friends, then asked him, "Did Bethany do this?"

Charles took a step back. "I tried to stop her," his voice sounded strained behind the black mask. Another step backward. "You have to get out of here."

"Spencer!"

Spencer didn't have time to answer Toby because Charles spun around and started to run. Making a split decision, she reached out and managed to grab a piece of Charles' sleeve. Her brother froze and turned to look over his shoulder at her.

"It's over, Charles," Spencer told him. "You need to stop protecting her. Let us help you."

The next few seconds were tense and silent until Charles turned fully around to face them. When she was sure he was going to run, Spencer slowly let go of his arm. Charles seemed to deliberate for a moment, and then, swallowing hard, he reached up and took the mask off.

* * *

 **A/N:** Charles is giving up?! What's going to happen next? Review, and I'll tell you. :)


	10. Breakdown

**A/N:** Thanks again for all the followers, favorites, and reviews! I really appreciate all of them. :) Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

 **Breakdown**

The night had turned chilly and a strong wind blew through the trees and across the street in front of the high school. The flashing red lights on top of the police cars seemed to light up the whole area, illuminating the figure sitting in the back seat of one them. Spencer couldn't help to stare at him from over Toby's shoulder. His head was bowed, his blonde hair falling into his face, and his hand were bound behind his back. Despite everything he had done to her and the rest of her friends, Spencer thought that it was her fault that he was sitting in that police car. She was the one who asked him to stay, and he listened to her. It was all so confusing, Charles was supposed to be the bad guy, but he wasn't acting like the A they've known all these years.

"I was so scared," Toby whispered into her hair. He held her tightly, almost too tightly, bringing Spencer back to the moment. She remembered how he looked when she turned to face him in the hallway earlier, pale and stricken.

"I'm alright," Spencer assured him, for the second time. She pulled back a little to look at him. "I was the one who was worried about you. When we got here, you were nowhere to be found. Where were you?"

There was that look again, the wide-eyed look of disbelief. His face had gone pale and his bottom lip trembled as he attempted to say something. He opened his mouth several times, but no words were coming out. Finally, Toby shook his head and pulled away from her. Running a hand through his hair, he released a deep, shuddering breath.

"Toby, what's wrong?" Spencer asked, instantly alarmed. She reached out and touched his arm. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Toby said, quietly at first. His eyes were fixed on the ground, but when Spencer's fingers tightened on his arm, he looked up at her. "I came here to check out the call, like I told you. The place was deserted, no sign that anybody had been here. I was just trying to get a look inside through the windows with my flashlight when I thought I heard someone approaching me from behind. I didn't have time to react, whoever they were hit me over the head with something and I was out cold."

Spencer was quiet while he was talking, only letting out a small gasp. She wrapped an arm around his waist and rested her cheek against his bicep, so very glad that he was safe now.

"When I came to, I was back in my truck, somewhere in the woods behind my family's house," Toby continued. "I knew someone had to have driven me out there, but I didn't know who. The only clue I had was this," Toby took his phone out of his pocket and turned it on. There was a text already on the screen, when she leaned in to read it, her eyes grew wide.

 **I'm sorry for that night on the rooftop.**

 **She was a wonderful woman and she didn't deserve to die.**

 **She loved you so much, her precious baby boy.**

"The number was unlisted, but I..." Toby started to say, licking his lips. "But I could take a guess-"

"Charles," Spencer whispered, finishing his thought. Her eyes flitted up to his. "Toby, I didn't know whether I was going to tell you or not, but since it's come up, I kind of have to. I think Charles was on the roof at Radley, the night your mother died."

"Are you saying that he pushed my mother off the roof?" Toby asked, standing up straighter.

"No, but he knows who did," Spencer answered, she started to continue, but Toby started to shake his head again.

"I can't think about this right now, Spencer," Toby said, covering his face with his hands.

"You're right, we should get to the hospital and get you checked out," Spencer agreed.

Toby dropped his hands and looked at her, a bit confusedly, until he seemed to remember getting hit in the head. "No, I'm fine, really I am." he assured her.

"Well, we'll just let the doctor decide that," Spencer told him. "I'm not taking any chances with your health."

Surprisingly, Toby didn't fight with her further and they started walking over to the rest of their friends. They were huddled together, talking in low voices, but stopped when Spencer and Toby approached. Spencer explained to them what Toby told her and said she was going to take him to the hospital just as a precaution. They all agreed, saying that they were going to head home and try to get some sleep. The four friends decided to meet tomorrow and talk about what happened here tonight.

Spencer and Toby hadn't been gone five minutes when Caleb and Ezra rushed over to them. They grabbed their respective girls in a hug, the fear and relief radiating off of them like a second skin. Emily stepped back to give them privacy, and suddenly feeling like the fifth wheel. Aria was surprised, yet happy to see Ezra, but a wave of guilt rushed over her from the way she had left him. When she had first left the note, Aria had thought she was being considerate, but now she saw just how that might have hurt him.

"Do you know what it feels like to wake up and find that you're not there?" Ezra asked, rhetorically, smoothing her hair back with both hands. His blue eyes glistened fear and his voice trembled a little. "I read that note and I didn't know what to think."

"I'm sorry," was all Aria could say, feeling close to tears herself. "I didn't think, I didn't-I'm sorry didn't mean to scare or hurt you."

"When are you going to get that I am here for you, no matter what," Ezra said. "You can tell me anything."

"I don't want to keep secrets from you, but I also don't want to see you get hurt because of me," Aria confessed. She reached up and touched his face, trying not think of what Charles would have done if she had told Ezra something she shouldn't.

Ezra pulled her to him just then, his arms curving around her. "If something happened to you, I wouldn't be okay," he whispered in her ear. Aria felt the tears come then, the wetness sliding down her face, creating a dark splotch on his shirt. Her arms tightened around him as she buried her face into his shoulder. If she wasn't convinced before, Aria knew now just how much he loved her. She could feel it in the way held her and when he pressed his lips to her temple. Aria closed her eyes and sighed softly, never wanting to leave the security of his arms.

Meanwhile, Hanna and Caleb had just seperated with Caleb shaking his head at her. "Did you really think I was going to assume you were in the bathroom this whole time?" he asked her, incredulously. "It's a good thing I haven't gotten around to taking the tracker off her car yet or I'll still be sitting at your house uselessly calling your phone."

"I'll take it out myself tomorrow, but right now, I'm so glad you're here," Hanna said, gripping his hands tightly. She leaned up and kissed him on the mouth. Caleb responded immediately, his arms wrapping around her. The kiss didn't last long, but for the moment it was just the two of them and no one could take the other away.

"Promise, you won't leave me again," Caleb said, his voice husky as he leaned his forehead against hers. Hanna closed her eyes for just a second and then opened them into his soft brown ones.

"Hopefully, I won't ever have to," Hanna replied, wanting desperately to believe it. "I think it's finally over."

Caleb nodded, "You ready to go home?" Hanna murmured a yes, and Caleb pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek and took her hand.

They turned back to their friends and found that they were all ready to go. Aria and Ezra led the way, their arms around each other as they started walking down the sidewalk to their respective cars. Hanna took Emily's hand with her other one as they walked and the other girl smiled gratefully at her. They had just reached the street when they heard a commotion coming from one of the police cars. It was Charles and he was throwing himself at the door from inside the car, screaming something they couldn't hear. Two police officers ran over, one of them saying something into their hand-held radio. Charles seemed to lock eyes with them and the girls exchanged quick glances with each other, full of terror and confusion.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

 _Charles_

His sister didn't even look over at him when she walked by with that cop. Not even a backward glance. It was like he wasn't even there. He had done what she asked, he stayed, he turned himself in, and she just left. No one cared that he was sitting in a police car, facing a possible life sentence. He looked out the window and caught the friends sneaking glances at him, as if he were an animal in a zoo.

"They're happy to finally be rid of you,"

Charles didn't have to turn around to see who had spoken, he already knew. It was the Shadow Man, the shadowy figure who's been appearing by his side since he was a kid. Though, he hadn't seen the Shadow Man for awhile and he had hoped that he was gone forever. Charles' eyes flickered over to the shadowy form on the seat beside him, but he kept his face turned to the window. Of course, ignoring the Shadow Man was never an option, he tended to get angry when he wasn't his focal point.

"No words," the Shadow Man said. "Because you know I'm right. We tried to warn you, these people are not your friends. You've tortured them for years, of course they'd turn on you at the first opportunity."

"Shut up," Charles whispered through gritted teeth.

"Rudeness will not change what you've done," the Shadow Man replied, the smokey tendrils slinking towards him. "You are going to prison, Charles, and they made it happen." A tendril drifted past his face pressing itself to the glass of the window, forming a circle around where the girls stood.

"Stop!" Charles growled out, his gaze falling to the floor. His hands twitched, wishing they weren't in the infernal handcuffs.

The Shadow Man continued as if he hadn't said anything. "They did this to you. They want you out of their lives forever."

"NO, that's not-"

Charles turned to face the Shadow Man, nearly floating on the seat beside him, watching him, even though Shadow Man had no eyes or any facial features of any kind. The Shadow Man was just it, a silhouette of a man with smokey tendrils of black surrounding it. Charles used to be afraid of him when he was younger, afraid of what he would do to him, now, he was still afraid, but for a whole different reason. He stared at the Shadow Man, trying to remain in control of his feelings, emotions. As long as he stayed in control, the Shadow Man couldn't hurt him or anyone.

"What are you going to do, Charles?" the Shadow Man sneered.

"Get. Out." Charles said. His anger was seething, he could feel growing under skin, getting higher and higher. And the Shadow Man was just sitting, floating there. "GET OUT!"

He lunged at the Shadow Man, forgetting the fact that his hands were bound behind him. The Shadow Man vanished as soon as Charles hit the seat and he flailed for a moment before pulling himself back up. Outside the police car, the Shadow Man materialized again and Charles saw that the girls were walking toward the street, right by the Shadow Man. The smokey tendrils were already expanding from the Shadow Man, reaching out toward the girls. Charles screamed and threw himself at the door, his useless hands scrambling for the door handle, but it was locked.

His vision had narrowed to just the Shadow Man and the tendrils that were now sliding to the car, up through the cracks in the door. Charles didn't even hear the scream that was still coming out of his mouth anymore. He couldn't hear anything over the thrum of his heartbeat, the whoosh of his blood in his veins. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't stop.

Suddenly, he was falling and he landed on something hard and cold. The tendrils seized him by the arms and shoulders pinning him down, his cheek against the rough surface of the ground. He tried to squirm away from them, but they were stronger. The tendrils had never grabbed him like this before and he was scared. He felt his body go lax as he let the tendrils do what they will to him. Charles didn't know what would happen to him, his only thought was that he was very tired of fighting.

* * *

 **A/N:** This was a bit of an eye-opening chapter! How was it? Please review and tell me. :)


	11. You're Still Mine, Bitches

**Chapter Eleven**

 **You're Still Mine, Bitches**

Jason stopped a few feet away from the white door in the psychiatric wing of the hospital, the one with the burly, bald security officer standing right next to it. The man stared at him, his gaze cold and calculating. Now that he was here, Jason didn't know what he was going to say. His brother, his _twin_ brother was in that room, the one he hadn't seen in years. His memory was still a bit hazy on the subject, there were things he still couldn't remember, but he remembered Charles. The proof was in the child's baseball cap he clutched in his hands.

"Hey, are you lost or something, because this room is off-limits," the security officer called to him, in a not-so-friendly tone.

Jason looked up at him and took a step forward. "Actually, I'm here to see Charles Dilaurentis," he cleared his throat. "I'm his brother, Jason Dilaurentis."

The officer shook his head, "I'm sorry, I have orders not to allow anyone access to Mr. Dilaurentis, except for hospital personnel."

"I know and I understand, but," Jason said, sliding the hat into the back pocket of his jeans. "Here's the thing, I haven't seen my brother in a really long time and I don't even know if he remembers me, but I...I just want to talk to him. I don't have an ulterior motives, I just want to see my brother."

The officer's stern demeanor didn't change, which was why Jason thought he was going to say he wasn't allowed in, but then, his posture slackened and his head dropped. "I could get in so much trouble for this," he seemed to say to the floor. Then, he looked up at Jason. "I know what it's like to be estranged from a brother, except I never got the chance to tell him how I really felt."

Jason stood up straighter, hardly believing what he was hearing.

"Which is why, I'm going to go down to the cafeteria and get myself a cup of coffee," the security officer said. "I'll be gone no longer than ten minutes and I'll expect to find this room exactly the way I left it."

Jason didn't respond, because the officer didn't expect him to. He watched as the officer backed up and then finally turned around. Jason didn't move until the officer had disappeared around the corner. He took a deep breath and stepped up to the door, peeking through the small window. Charles sat on the bed inside the room, his leg dangling off the side. He wore white scrubs that made his skin look pale and a silver handcuff on his left wrist, attaching him to the bed rail. A breakfast tray sat untouched in front of him as he stared down at his hands.

With a shaky hand, Jason reached out and touch the door handle, turning it automatically. The door opened with almost no sound and he let it slide open all the way, his hand falling back down to his side. He walked into the room a few steps, his shoes squeaking on the shiny linoleum floor. Charles didn't even look up as he approached, if he heard him at all.

"You can take this away, I'm not hungry," Charles said, his voice hoarse, as he pushed the tray away.

"Charlie,"

Charles stiffened at his childhood nickname and the familiar sound of his brother's voice. The tension was thick as Jason waited, waited for his brother to look up. Finally, Charles did, his identical blue eyes hidden behind strands of blonde hair. Jason sucked in a breath, knowing the similarities between them, but it was different seeing them after all these years.

"Jason?"

Jason nodded, not quite sure why though and took a couple more steps forward. It looked like Charles wanted to do the same, but remembered the handcuff keeping him on the bed. Neither one of them knew what to say next, there were so many things to say, but yet, where to start?

"We were supposed to leave for summer camp together that day," Jason said, not exactly where that thought had come from. "But mom said, you were feeling sick and couldn't go. I was so excited about the camp that I didn't even notice the tears in her eyes."

"I wanted to say good-bye," Charles replied, weakly. "Dad wouldn't let me out of our room until the lovely guys in white came."

"Charlie, what happened?" Jason asked, he was now standing in front of his brother.

Charles shook his head, his bottom lip starting to tremble. "I don't know," he seemed to struggle at what to say next. "I told mom I didn't want to come out to the party, I just wanted to stay in my room. I already gave Alison her present and wished her a happy birthday, she wouldn't have even noticed if I wasn't even there, but mom was insistent."

He swallowed and adjusted his position on the bed. "He was following me around that whole day, I was trying to ignore him, but then he threatened our little sister. I was only trying to protect her, Jason, I didn't mean for any of it to happen!"

Jason could tell his brother was getting worked up, but he couldn't help to ask, "He? Who wanted to hurt Ali?"

Charles only looked up at him, his eyes glassy. Almost immediately, Jason knew who his brother was talking about and his mouth dropped open slightly. "Charles, no. We were kids—we thought—dad explained to us that he wasn't real. I didn't see him anymore after that, you said you didn't either..."

"I wanted to," Charles confessed, wiping away a tear that had fallen from his eye. "Believe me, I did, but the more I tried to shut him out, the more harsher he got." He seemed to be fighting something inside him as he started to rock back and forth.

"You could of told me, I would have helped you," Jason told him, a bit saddened that his brother hadn't trusted him enough.

Charles opened his mouth to say something, but instead he fell forward onto the bed, screaming out. Jason took an involuntary step backward, a look of horror and confusion on his face. Charles kept screaming 'no' and 'get away', Jason didn't know what to do. A few minutes passed before two nurses came into the room, brushing past Jason. He backed up to give them room to work. One nurse was attempting to restrain Charles, while the other one readied a syringe full of clear fluid. Charles seemed to notice the syringe as well because he suddenly tried lunge off the bed.

"No! I don't need that! Please, I'm fine, I don't need it!" Charles screamed. His eyes flickered over to Jason. "Jason, tell them, I don't need it! I'm fine!"

Jason opened his mouth, but no words came out. The nurse was barely holding Charles down on the bed, called over his shoulder to the other nurse, telling her to hurry up. Instantly, that nurse was on Charles' other side, plunging the needle into his arm. A few seconds later, Charles stopped struggling and slumped against the pillows, his eyelids fluttering half-closed.

Right before he went under whatever was in that syringe, Charles whispered, "Don't let him take me."

Finally, the female nurse turned to Jason. "I think you should leave now," she told him gently. Jason nodded, turning away after giving his brother one last glance. He was sleeping now, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Jason wondered if he was at peace now or if nightmares still plagued him in sleep. He left the room, with his brother's last words ringing in his head.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Hanna poked the slop that was the school lunch with her fork, making a disgusted look. It felt weird to be in school when the night before everything they'd been dealing with for the past two years finally came to an end. They should be out celebrating their new freedom, not stuck in this stuffy, brick building learning which old guy started what war. She looked up at her friends, who were either looking at their phones or eating their bagged lunches.

"Does anyone else think it's strange that Alison hasn't been released from prison yet?" Hanna asked, pushing her tray away. "I mean, Mona's in the hospital, not dead, it's pretty obvious that Ali didn't murder her."

Emily shrugged, looking a bit disconcerted and Aria just shook her head. "There's a delay at the courthouse, my mom's been complaining about it all week," Spencer supplied, her eyes still glued to the newspaper in front of her.

"What are you reading, Spencer?" Aria asked, leaning over to try and take a peek at what her friend was reading. "You've barely looked up from that paper since we've sat down."

Spencer slid the newspaper to the center of the table, her eyes flickering up to her friends. "Take a look," she said. The other three leaned in to read the headline Spencer pointed to.

 **Mona Vanderwaal: Rosewood's Sleeping Beauty**

"Sleeping beauty? Like the movie?" Hanna was the first one to speak, voicing all their thoughts. "So, her one true love has to wake her with a kiss? That's a fairy tale, everyone knows that it's not real." The other two girls looked between both Hanna and Spencer, trying to figure it out themselves.

"According to the article, there's nothing physically wrong with Mona," Spencer explained, paraphrasing what she'd read in the paper. "After a few blood tests though, they deduced that there is a some kind of drug in her system. They haven't been able to identify what kind of drug it is, but they believe that it is somehow connected to her slowing brain activity."

"What does that mean?" Hanna asked, feeling suddenly guilty that she hadn't been to visit Mona since she'd been found in the park.

Spencer sighed, "It means that if the doctors can't find out what type of drug it is or a way to reverse it than Mona could be brain-dead in a week."

It was like all the air had been sucked out of the cafeteria and none of them could move. Hanna suddenly felt very cold and she rubbed her hands up and down her arms to increase circulation. Her stomach reeled and not because of the food. Mona had done a lot to hurt her, but they had come a long way since Mona was masquerading as A. Hanna realized just then, that she considered Mona a friend again.

"I hope that monster rots in jail for the rest of his life," Aria muttered, arms crossed in front of her and hunched over the table. Hanna nodded absentmindedly.

Suddenly, there was a chorus of musical tones as each of their phones went off simultaneously. They looked at each other out of habit, and pulled out their phones. Hanna nearly froze when she read the new text message.

 _Charles may be gone, but you're still mine, Bitches_

 _-A_

* * *

 **A/N:** I know this chapter wasn't long, but there was no way I could stretch it out any longer. Any idea as to who this new A could be? Hmm? Good news, I am working on a trailer for this story that should be up on Youtube in a few days. I'll post the link here, when it's finished. Also, the next chapter will be a little late because I'm going to write and post a quick Halloween story for the holiday. Just wanted to let you all know. So, with that said, please review! :)


	12. Alison Comes Home

**A/N:** I am so sorry, it's been at least two months since my last update. :o Things have been crazy, I'm getting ready to move and with all the holidays, I just hadn't had the time to write. But things are settling down, so I want to get back to weekly updates. I just wanted to let you know, so that you didn't think I had given up on this story. Which I haven't, it's the opposite, I love this story so much and it's becoming so much more than I thought it would. I also have another surprise for all my lovely readers (besides this chapter), I have finished the trailer I had said I was going to make for this story. If you love this story, I recommend and encourage all of you to watch it. I am really proud of how it turned out. The link will be in my profile. Now, enough of me blabbering on and on, I'll let you just read this chapter. Enjoy! :)

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

 **Alison Comes Home**

Alison looked at her reflection in the smudged, cracked mirror. She pushed a few strands of freshly washed and brushed blonde hair behind her ears, feeling almost like her old self. Though, her jeans fit a bit looser than they did before, but it felt much better to be in her own clothes than that horrible orange jumpsuit. Alison hoped she wasn't like her old self that much anyway, that maybe this place changed her. No, she knew she wasn't the same girl she was when she came here or even the girl from two years ago.

Feeling satisfied that she looked presentable and grinning slightly when she realized that part of her personality was still there, Alison left the small bathroom. The guard was waiting out in the hallway for her and barely gave her a glance before leading the way to the front entrance of the penitentiary. The few inmates they passed on the way, gave Alison nasty and threatening looks, but instead of shrinking back in fear, she stood up straighter and looked calmly forward. She was not afraid of them not anymore. They wouldn't be able to hurt her now that she was getting out of here.

Her father was the first thing she saw when they came to the front entrance. He looked older than she'd last seen him, but he was still the tall and strong figure from her childhood. A deep wave of relief went through Alison and she realized that she was happy to see her father, that she had missed him.

"Dad,"

Kenneth turned at the sound of his daughter's voice and Alison rushed forward. Distractedly, she was surprised when the guard didn't stop her. He caught her just like he always used to when she was a little girl and Alison buried her face in his shirt, breathing in his familiar scent of aftershave.

"Ready to go home?" Kenneth asked his daughter when they pulled apart.

Alison nodded, wiping away the tears she hadn't known she cried. Her father walked her out of the penitentiary and Alison didn't look back, already wanting to put that place behind her. There was a chill in the evening air and Alison pulled her sweater closer around her. The sun was just beginning to set, casting everything in a red-orange glow. Alison couldn't help but stop and stare at it, marveling at the beauty and peacefulness of the moment. Just being out here in the fresh air with the sun shining down on her, she had missed this when she was locked away and she promised that she would never take that for granted again.

The car ride was quiet with the hum of the radio playing softly in the background. Her dad was never a big talker and right now that's how Alison liked it. It gave her time to think, decide on what she was going to do when she got back home. She wished she had her cell phone, so that she could call her friends to let them know that she was coming home. Then, she realized that her story has been front page news for two years, of course, they would already know that she was getting out of jail. It would be too late to get together with them tonight, besides, Alison really just wanted to stay home tonight with her family. What was left of it anyway. She was thinking, though, that maybe they could all meet at The Brew or someplace else tomorrow and hang out just like old times.

"It's going to be good having you back home," Kenneth spoke up suddenly. "You should never have been in that place."

Alison looked over her father. He was staring straight out at the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel. She couldn't help but think that her father blamed her friends for sending her to prison. Of course, Alison was hurt by their betrayal too, but she had given them numerous reasons to doubt and she had been set up for Mona's fake murder. She acknowledged that she's made so many mistakes and she was ashamed of how she'd acted, but she hoped that she would be able to make amends, with everyone she had hurt in the past.

Leaning her head against the window, Alison looked out at the trees as the car sped past them, each of blurring into the next. The sky was darkening as the sun had already set. This was a new start for her, tomorrow, there would be a new Alison Dilaurentis.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

The house sat dark and quiet, but instead of seeming foreboding, it felt safe, just like it always had. Alison stepped out of the car and stared up at her childhood home, letting out a sigh of contentment. She heard her father lock the car and then walk around the front of it.

"Is Jason home?" Alison asked.

"He was when I left," Kenneth said shortly. He led his daughter up the porch steps and then stopped to unlock the front door. "Who knows if he still is."

"I hope he is," Alison replied, stopping in her tracks and crossing her arms. "I want to ask him about Charles."

She saw the tension arise in her father's shoulder's before he turned around and she saw it in the lines on his face. "I don't think that's a good idea," was all Kenneth said.

"Why not?" she asked him. "He's my brother too. I want to see him."

"Alison, this is your first night back at home," Kenneth said slowly and tiredly. "Let's not spoil it by bringing up the past."

Alison was about to argue with him until she saw the look in his eye. He didn't look angry, instead he was pleading with her. He didn't want to talk about Charles. Alison did though, she wanted to remember her brother, she wanted to see him, talk to him. But she could also see how much pain her father was in just at the mention of Charles' name, so, for one of the first times in her life, she put someone's else needs in front of her own and she nodded.

Kenneth visible relaxed and he pulled open the door for them both. Alison gave her father a reassuring smile as walked past him into the house. She would let it go for tonight, but starting tomorrow she will talk to Jason _and Charles._ Alison will figure out this whole deep, dark secret surrounding her brother.

"Surprise!" The living room flooded with light when Alison walked in, followed a chorus of her friends' voices. "Welcome home, Ali!"

Alison blinked and her friends were standing around her living room with the same wide smiles on their faces. There were balloons scattered around the room and even a _Welcome Home_ banner strung across the mantle. They each took turns giving her a hug, which she returned, while still stunned and speechless. She looked around for her father to ask him if he knew about this, but he'd seemed to have disappeared, probably to give them all some privacy. Emily was the last one to approach her and Alison didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around her friend.

"I'm really glad you're home," Emily whispered in her ear. It warmed Alison's heart to not only hear her say those words, but to hear the sincerity in them.

"I can't believe my dad did this," Alison said, still in a state of disbelief. She pulled away from Emily to gaze at each one of her friends.

"He didn't," Spencer replied, stepping forward. "We all thought you deserved a little bit of a homecoming party. You shouldn't have to come home, just to be by yourself again. Jason agreed with us."

"Yeah, it's just a small get together with your friends," Aria added. "It's kind of our way of apologizing for not believing you and basically locking you away ourselves."

"No, none of you have anything to apologize for," Alison shook her head adamantly, moving closer to them. "I gave you every reason to doubt my word, looking back at it, I probably wouldn't have believed me either. I was selfish to think that you guys would always be there for me after everything I put you through."

"Ali, it's okay," Emily assured her, reaching forward to put a hand on her arm. "It's all over and in the past. I think we all want to move forward from the people we used to be and try to be better."

Alison nodded, sniffing back the tears that were threatening to come. "I promise all of you that I will try to be the friend you all deserve. I want to be." she promised.

Aria murmured her assurances as well, stroking Alison's other shoulder. Her friends all seemed genuine with their feelings, but Alison couldn't help but notice Hanna's crossed arms and tight-lipped smile, but it was mostly her silence that unsettled her. The other blonde had barely said two words to her since she came in. It was then, Ali realized that not all the damage she had done would be that easily fixed.

A half hour later, the impromptu party was winding and everybody was getting ready to leave. Alison tried not to take it too personally when Hanna bolted for the door the first chance she got, but she still felt the sharp sting. Aria and Spencer were laughing about something as they cleaned up the paper plates and cups from the coffee table. Alison handed them a black, heavy-duty trash bag, and helped them dump some of the trash into it. She was only half paying attention to her friends' conversation, so she was all too aware when Emily came back into the room, cell phone in hand, a strained look on her face. Alison quickly abandoned her post and went over to her upset friend.

"Are you okay?" Alison asked her carefully. "Who was on the phone?"

"Paige," Emily said coolly, staring at her phone for a minute before sliding it into her pocket. "She called to tell me how much fun she's having in California and how it's been good for her. She's met some _interesting_ people too." Emily looked up at her with an indifferent look.

Alison felt an unfamiliar pang in her chest at the mention of that name. She kept her feelings in check though, her friend was already hurting and she didn't want to add anymore pain to it. So, she just said, "Oh, I'm sorry."

"I'm not," Emily said, surprisingly. "Paige has moved on with her life, she's where she wants to be. I can't fault her for living her life. I don't have any regrets or wistful thoughts about what happened. It's just that with everything that's happened, I've been a bit...lonely, it would have been nice to have somebody to hold during the night, to chase away all the bad dreams."

Alison's mouth suddenly went dry and her heart started to pound as she realized that this was it. This was her chance to do something, _say something_. She moved closer to Emily and hesitantly reached her hand out to her friend's. Slowly at first, then when Emily's fingers responded to her own, she entwined their hands together. She looked up and was slightly startled at the way Emily's soft brown eyes seemed to penetrate her to see right into her soul. But Alison wasn't scared, no, instead, she felt awakened.

"I can chase away all those bad dreams," Alison whispered, brushing some of Emily's hair back behind her ears.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, especially not with your own-"

"I want to," Alison interrupted her, closing the space between them. It seemed like the world stood still in the few seconds Alison waited, her lips just inches from Emily's. She waited for the other girl to pull away, to say she didn't want this, anything to shatter this dream she thought was too good to be true. After everything she had done, how could Emily just be standing there, waiting for her to kiss her. Because, it was Emily, the loyal, steady friend she'd always know and until recently, the one thing she hadn't know she'd been searching for. The one thing she'd been craving, but had never known it was right beside her the whole time.

From somewhere in the house, Alison thought she heard a phone ring and that's when she started to rethink this. What if Emily didn't feel anything toward her anymore? It's been years since that kiss in the school library. Her feelings could have changed. Neither one of them were the same girls they'd been back then. Not wanting to embarrass herself anymore than she already had, Alison started to pull back. But Emily grabbed her shoulders, keeping her in place and pressed her lips to hers. The kiss was just as sweet as it had been before, but even more now. They each had grown and they could feel it in the way they each poured they're feelings into that kiss.

Alison felt like she was floating and forgot for a moment where she was. If it weren't for Emily, she probably would have fell over right there. All sensations were starting to come back to her when she felt the tremble of a new pair of footsteps enter the living room. Afraid for a moment that it was her father, she pulled away fast. Emily looked just as dazed as she felt as they looked toward the newcomer. It was Jason and he wore a mask of shock and disbelief on his face.

Alison's heart started to pound again, but this time it was from fear, not excitement. Something had happened, she could feel it. "What is it?" she asked her brother.

At the sound of worry in her voice, Spencer and Aria looked up too. Ali felt a small bit of relief when she realized that they hadn't noticed the kiss, or at least they'd been kind enough to give her and Emily some semblance of privacy. Finally, Jason met her eyes and took a deep breath.

"That was the police station," he announced. Alison closed her eyes, afraid of what her brother would say next. "Charles wants to see us. He's ready to tell his side of the story."

* * *

 **A/N:** Again, I'm sorry, I kept you all waiting so long for this chapter. Hopefully, I can get back to weekly updates. So, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and review if you would like to know what Charles has to say! :) And remember, go watch the trailer, you don't want to miss it!


	13. Charles Tells All

**A/N:** I am so sorry, sorry, sorry, a million times sorry! I honestly don't know what happened, except that I wasn't that motivated to write, even though I was excited to get to this chapter. I don't know if any of the makes sense. Thank you to everyone for all the lovely reviews! I hope you are all still here and no one has given up on this story? Because I am still interested in this story and I hope you guys are too! It's only going to get better from here. Who's ready to hear what Charles has to say? If you are, please enjoy this chapter. :)

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **Charles Tells All**

" _Hush little baby, don't you cry. Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird, and if that mockingbird don't sing, Momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring..."_

The lullaby helped soothed Charles' chaotic mind. It was something that had stayed with him since he was a scared, little boy locked up in the psych ward. The coolness of the conference table against his forehead also helped to focus him. His arms were straight out in front of him, hand-cuffed together, and his nose was squashed against the hard metal of the table. It made his breathing sound loud and unnatural, but he didn't care. All these things kept _him_ at bay. _He_ was still there, in the corner, sulking, but this way, it felt like there was a barrier between them.

His shoulders were starting to ache from the position, so he sat up, his hands sliding along the table. He purposely kept his eyes forward, at the door of the room. Charles could already feel The Shadow Man trying to slip into his mind, but he kept the window shut. He couldn't afford to lose his senses now. Jason and Alison were on their way. After all these years of secrets and lies, Charles was finally coming clean. He had tried so hard to keep them safe, no matter what it cost him, but it had only caused more harm. With each day that passed, he could feel himself slipping away, there were moments when he couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. It scared him, but what scared him more, was losing himself before he told his brother and sister how much they meant to him.

 _They won't accept you._

Charles jumped and immediately smacked his temple. It was his own fault, he had let his guard down and The Shadow Man had wasted no time slipping into his mind. He could see the smokey tendrils reaching out toward him, out of the corner of his eye. Charles immediately threw up his walls, keeping The Shadow Man at bay. Instantly, the tendrils shrank back.

 _Charlie, boy, they don't even remember you. All they see is the lunatic who tortured them and their friends. You're nothing to them._

Charles shook his head furiously, begging him to stop. He tried to remember his brother's visit a few days ago, the look on his face when they reunited after all those years. Jason still cared about him, just like he'd always hoped. Charles wasn't sure about Alison, she'd been so young when he'd left. She probably hardly remembered him. And even she did remember, could she really love him after everything he had done?

 _Of course not. She was getting along just fine before you came into her life. YOU hurt her._

"No, I didn't," Charles spoke aloud, for the first time in what must have been hours. "I didn't mean to. I was trying to protect her."

 _She won't see it that way. She'll hate you. She's better off without you in her life. Everybody would be._

"NO!" Charles screamed. "SHUT UP!"

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Alison stepped off the hospital elevator behind Jason, along with two armed police escorts. She didn't like that they thought she needed protection from her own brother and she really didn't like the fact that she and Jason were wearing microphones. Alison didn't care about the police, she just wanted to get know her brother without their interference. She just hoped that Charles didn't find out that they were being recorded or she was afraid to know what he would do.

The group stopped in front of the hospital conference room, where they'd already been told they would be meeting Charles. The officers reminded them to keep physical contact to a minimal and to encourage Charles to confess. Alison rolled her eyes, they didn't care about her brother, they just wanted to throw a supposed criminal in jail and close the investigation.

"We'll be right outside the door, if anything should go wrong," one officer said. Finally, he knocked on the conference room door and after a moment, it opened. An older, bald security guard stood there, once he saw Alison and Jason, he nodded and stepped aside to let them in. Alison watched as both officers conversed with each other before leaving the room, the door clicking shut.

"Charlie," Jason was the first to move toward the table. Alison looked over just as Charles picked his head from where he'd been looking down at his lap. The gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it. Charles had the same blue eyes and blonde hair as Jason, though his hair was longer and he had a bit of scruff on his face. The longer she stared at her brother, the more she saw the slight differences between them; the longer face, sharper nose, and the wide-set eyes. But there was no escaping the truth, Jason and Charles were twins.

It took her a moment to realize that they were both staring at her. "I—uh-I don't know what to say," Alison swallowed, taking a small step forward.

"Don't worry, I don't either," Charles said, his voice quiet and hoarse. He seemed to be just as nervous as she was, which made Alison feel a bit relieved. To make them both feel a little bit more comfortable, Alison sat on one side of Charles, who sat at the head of the large conference table. Jason pulled out the chair opposite her, the loud creak echoing through the silent room, and sat down too.

"I don't really remember a lot," Alison began, once she realized that neither one of her brothers were going to be the one to start. "But there is this one memory, I'm wearing a yellow dress with a cast on my arm..."

"The day you left,"

"The day they took me away,"

Jason and Charles both said at the same time. They both stared at each other, it almost seemed like they were communicating only to each other. Out of habit, Alison felt jealous at her brothers' apparent connection. After a few more seconds, the moment seem to break when Charles looked away, right at her.

"It was your birthday party, Ali," Charles explained, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "You were so young and innocent, so full of boisterous energy. You captivated everyone you met, much like you still do. You've grown into a lovely, young lady, Alison, my sweet sister."

 _The laughter floated in from the partially open upstairs window, causing the young boy to look up from his baseball trading cards. He felt a longing to be outside, to join the party, to be with his family and friends. But he couldn't, not today. So, he forced himself to look back at his cards, smoothing down a slightly-bent corner of one card. There was a knock at the bedroom door, and then it creaked open a little bit._

" _May I come in?" his mother, Jessica Dilaurentis asked, peeking her head inside the room._

 _Charles nodded, his eyes still training on the floor. His hair was in his eyes, so he could only see a part of his mother's figure as she entered the room and knelt down beside him._

" _We're getting ready to have cake," Jessica said. "Are you sure you don't want to come down?"_

 _Charles shook his head, "I can't."_

" _Is he still bothering you?" Jessica asked her son, rubbing her hand in soothing circles on his back._

 _Charles nodded, glancing quickly at the far corner of his room. "He likes it when I'm alone, he doesn't bother me," he explained. "But when there's people around, he makes me do bad things." Charles looked up at his mother with tears in his eyes. "I don't want to hurt anyone, mommy!"_

 _Jessica pulled him to her in a hug, wanting to take all his hurt and pain away. All this time, Jessica had thought, and hoped, that this was just a phrase that her little boy was just going through and he would eventually grow out of it. It had worked for Jason. But now, she knew that Charles' problems would not be easily fixed, in fact, they seemed to be getting worse if he wouldn't even come out of his room now. As she held her son tightly, Jessica promised that starting tomorrow she would get her son some help. She would do whatever she had to do to protect her son and make him feel safe again._

" _Jessica!"_

 _Charles stiffened at the sound of his father's voice. Jessica soothed him and told him that she'll bring him up a piece of cake later. Charles stayed where he was, looking down at his baseball cards, but not really seeing them. He could hear his parents out in the hall, his mother saying that he's going to stay up here._

" _What do you mean, he's not coming out?!"_

 _Things got heated quickly and Charles covered his ears with his hands, so he didn't have to hear them arguing. They argued more frequently now, mostly over him. He tried not to listen, but it was hard and the tension always wore him down._

You know how to make them stop, Charlie, _came his voice from the corner. Charles leaned forward and squeezed his eyes shut. This couldn't be happening, he needed it to stop, wanted it all to go away. Charles was too busy focusing on his breathing, in and out, in and out, that he didn't notice it had gotten quiet in the hallway and the heavy, fast footsteps approaching. Then, he was being yanked onto his feet by the back of his collar. A small whimper escaped him as he came face to face with his father. Kenneth didn't say anything to him, he just started hauling Charles out of the room._

" _No! Please, daddy!" Charles cried, stumbling with every step to keep from falling and being dragged. "I don't want to!"_

" _SHUT UP!" Kenneth snapped, giving his arm a tug. "Stop your crying! I am sick of this, you are going to grow up and stop this, attention-seeking, baby routine. Everything is not all about you all the time!"_

 _Charles only let out a small whimper, too scared of his father to utter another word. His wrist hurt from the tightness of his father's hand, but the pain was a welcome distraction from the dread and fear welling up from the pit of his stomach. He felt the shadow loom up behind him, racing along his skin, seeping into his bones._

Alison tried her best to hold back the tears she felt welling up inside her. She couldn't let her brother see her cry, she had to stay strong for him. Though, looking at him, Charles sat calm and his face was a mask of indifference. It was like he wasn't telling about own past, but some other kid's past. His hands were folded on the table in front of him, the handcuffs giving him limited movement and while he spoke, he'd only looked at the two of them no more than two times.

"Charlie, you could have told me you were still seeing him," Jason said. He sat on the edge of his seat, leaning forward on the table. "I would have helped you."

"Wait, seeing who? Charles?" Alison asked, confusedly.

Jason looked at Charles first, to see if he was going to explain, then looked at his sister. "There was this scary movie Charlie and I really wanted to watch when we were kids. Mom and dad said no, but when we were at a friend's house, we couldn't help ourselves and we watched it. We regretted it even before the end credits showed up. One of the villains in the movie was this man made of shadows, and we started seeing him everywhere we went. Finally, dad sat us down and explained that the movie was fake and how it was made. It took a day or two for me to get over it, but I did and I thought Charlie had too."

"I thought I had," Charles whispered. He looked at Jason with what looked like an apology in his eyes. "After a few days, he showed up again. Even before we saw the movie, I would hear these voices in my head, telling me to do things. Things that I knew were bad. But after that, it got worse. I thought— _when_ I was alone, the voices went away and nobody got hurt. I resigned myself to staying in my room all day, so that I could protect my family. Dad, though, wouldn't have any of that."

"Is that what happened at my birthday party?" Alison asked. "There are a few memory fragments I have and that's one of them. There's a lot of screaming and running and chaos. I thought maybe you were mad at me."

"Ali, no!" Charles exclaiming, spinning around to face her. He started to reach out to touch her shoulders, but the handcuffs stopped him, so he settled for taking her hands instead. "You are my baby sister and I love you so much. I've never wanted anything bad to happen to you. You have to believe me, everything I have done from then to now, I have only been trying to protect you." His blue eyes were pleading with her, begging her to understand.

" _Happy Birthday, dear Alison! Happy Birthday to you!"_

 _Charles stood across the table from his sister, who sat basking in all the attention. Alison always thrived on being the center of attention, so today, she was in all her glory. She was all smiles as she took turns looking at everyone around her and down at her pink-frosted, chocolate and vanilla, princess cake. Charles glanced around anxiously, looking for_ him _. So far, there was nothing, but it did little to calm Charles' mind. In fact, it made him even more nervous, because it was when The Shadow Man was quiet that he struck out._

 _Alison leaned forward to blow out her five flickering, birthday candles, and that's when The Shadow Man made his presence known. He loomed up behind Alison, those shadowy tentacles reaching toward the young girl. Charles squeezed his eyes shut, trying to convince himself that it wasn't real._

She doesn't deserve this, _the voice slithered into his mind._ Everything was fine before she came along, because of her, your parents won't even look at you. She ruined everything.

 _Charles shook his head, his body shaking from all the tension he was holding. It wasn't true, he never blamed Alison. Though, his parents did only start treating him different when his sister came into the picture. No, this was what The Shadow Man did. He slid into his mind and manipulated his thoughts and feelings until he lashed out. Charles opened his eyes, and The Shadow Man was still there, even closer to his sister. Her blonde hair blew up in the unseen wind as she blew out a long, puff of air toward the candles. A shadowy tentacle was close to wrapping itself around Alison's neck._

 _Charles knew he had to act now, but with his father's hand clamped down on his shoulder, it was going to be difficult. Almost as if he sensed his brother needed him, Jason let out a boisterous laugh as he raised the straw with the spitball. Kenneth reacted immediately and turned away from Charles to grab his other son by the collar. Charles saw his brother's face go white as a sheet, right before he moved. He ducked under the table, intending on getting The Shadow Man away from his sister. Everything after that seemed to blur and stretch out, until time no longer existed._

 _There was a startled scream as he and his sister collided with the ground. The crack was loud as the two of them rolled together for a few seconds. When he looked up, The Shadow Man was gone and the only thing he saw was all those faces looked down, horrified, at him. His mother was one of them, the disappointed, devastated look cutting him to the core. Alison's cries were the only sound that rang in Charles' ears. He closed his eyes, letting his own tears slide down his face._

"I didn't mean for any of it to happen!" Charles was saying. His face was no longer a blank mask, every feeling he had ever felt was showing now. A lone tear slid down his cheek as he stared at his sister. "I never wanted to hurt you!"

Alison closed her eyes, pieces of the memories of that day coming back to her. She remembered how she scared she felt when Charles knocked her to the ground. The pain in her arm when her father made a makeshift splint to immobilize the bone. Everything got hazy after that, there flashes of different scenes and faces, but none she could really focus on. It frustrated her that she couldn't remember that day or the life she'd spent with her brother.

"I can only remember bits and pieces of that day, or any of the time before you left," Alison said, a bit exasperated with herself and inability to remember. She wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. "It doesn't make any sense, I should at least have some memories of that time, of you."

"Another thing, you can blame our parents for," Jason replied, looking down at the table in front of him.

"What do you mean?" Alison asked him, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"They conditioned us to forget all about Charlie," Jason explained. Alison drew in a sharp intake of breath. "It was a week after your birthday party, after they took Charlie away. I overheard them talking the night before they took us to the psychologist, saying that it would all be for the best."

"They wanted us to forget we ever had a brother?" Alison asked, in disbelief. "Why would they do that?"

"Because, I was a disgrace to them," Charles said, quietly. "I was a blemish on their perfect little family. They couldn't wait to get rid of me and every last trace of me."

"No!" Jason replied sharply and suddenly. His eyes flashed with anger as he reached for his brother. "I don't care what mom and dad did to you, you are not obsolete, not to me. Charlie, you're my brother and I love you. I've always felt like there was a piece of me missing, and now that I've found you, I'm not letting you go. Whatever you're facing, I'm going to help you beat it."

"Me too," Alison said, reaching out for her brother's other hand.

"I'm not the one you need to be worried about," Charles replied, cryptically.

Alison narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow, but Jason was the first one to speak. "Charlie, if you're talking about that shadow man thing, you don't have to-"

Charlies shook his head, interrupted his brother. "It's not that, it's Bethany."

"Wait, Bethany Young?" Alison questioned. "The girl who they found in my grave? What does she have to do with anything, she's been dead for years."

Charles looked up at her slowly, and she felt a tremor go through her. "No, she's not," he told her. "Bethany is very much alive."

" _Charles! Charles!"_

 _Charles looked up from his sketch pad just as the twelve-year-old girl blew into his room. Her face was flushed as if she just had ran all the way from the other side of the building and her blonde hair was a mess of curls and knots. He turned fully around in his desk chair to take in those wild, uncontrolled, hazel eyes. Just looking at her, Charles knew she had just come from one of her bi-weekly therapy sessions._

" _Beth, just calm down, take a deep breath," Charles told her, getting up from his chair. "No matter what happened, it's not that bad."_

" _Not that bad?! Not that bad?!" Bethany repeated, incredulously, throwing up her hands. "Now, they think I wanted to get rid of my sister on purpose, because I wanted to take her place. I mean, that's crazy, right? I would never want to hurt Dana, I love her so much! I didn't mean for it to happen, it was just a freak accident."_

 _Bethany had never told him the whole story about what happened to her sister, but he nodded anyway. "Exactly, it was," Charles agreed. "Sometimes things happen, things we never meant and people get hurt. And, no matter how much you try to convince anyone, they won't see you anyone other way. Trust me, I know that better than anyone."_

" _Let's get out of here," Bethany said suddenly, her eyes lit up with excitement. "C'mon, we have it down to a tee now. We can go to the park and just lie and look up at the stars."_

 _As much as he wanted to get out of this place and as much as he wanted to take her someplace else, away from all the pressure of the therapists, Charles knew that was no longer an option. So, regretfully, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Beth, we can't," he told her gently._

" _What are you talking about?" Bethany asked, confused. "Never mind, I don't want to know. I just want to get out of here for a little bit."_

 _Charles led her over to the bed and sat down. Bethany hesitated for a minute before sitting beside him. "I've been thinking a lot lately, and," he started to say. "If we want to ever go back home to our families, I think we should stop playing around. We should take our therapy seriously."_

" _So, you're taking their side!" Bethany exclaimed, jumping up. "You think I'm crazy, too! I don't believe this!"_

 _She started to leave the room, but Charles lunged after her and grabbed her arm. "Bethany, no," he stopped her. "It's just that, I miss my family and I really want to go home. And if we keep sneaking out and playing those practical jokes on the people here, well, we're never going to leave this place."_

" _Maybe, I don't want to leave,"_

 _She spoke so low that Charles almost didn't hear her, but he did and it troubled him. "Beth, you don't mean that," he said. "I know, you're mad at your family now, but they love you. They only want the best for you, you have to believe that."_

 _Bethany didn't look at him, but he could see that she was holding something back and she had tears in her eyes. At long last, Bethany shook her head. "It's been a long day, I just want to go to sleep," she said._

" _Ok," Charles replied. "Hey, we're okay, right? You know, you're my best friend and I care about you a lot."_

" _Of course," Bethany said, turning slightly and giving him a tight-lipped smile. To prove her point, she reached up and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. Charles watched her go, wishing that he could see inside that shadowed mind of hers. She kept so many secrets bottled-up inside her that Charles was beginning to think that no one truly knew who the real Bethany Young was._

"She was my only friend in that place," Charles was saying. "I desperately wanted to help her, but no matter how hard I tried, there was a part of her that could not be reached."

"What do you mean?" Alison asked him.

"It was like no matter how many times I told her that I was her friend and I wanted to help her, she never fully heard me or understood," Charles answered. "She flew off the handle over the littlest things, and I began to see the pattern to all of her outbursts. Me,"

"She was—is obsessed with me," Charles continued. "It got to the point where I couldn't even look at another person without her thinking the worst. She would try everything to keep my attention, even changing her appearance. But it wasn't until that night on the rooftop of Radley that I realized just how dangerous she was."

"Charlie, what happened?" Jason pressed him, gently.

"Most of the in-patients at Radley kept to themselves, focusing on their own treatment," Charlies explained, turning the handcuffs absentmindedly around his wrists. "But Bethany and I being the youngest ones there, of course we gravitated toward each other. There was one other patient I felt like I could talk to, someone I was drawn to. She was older, a mother herself. She talked about her son all the time."

Alison sucked in her breath, afraid she knew who the woman was.

"Marion didn't judge me," Charles continued. "Everything I told her, she took it like it was just another part of myself. She helped me and I would like to think that I helped her too."

"Bethany killed Toby's mom, didn't she?" Alison guessed.

Charles nodded, unable to say the words. His eyes had misted over with unshed tears and it looked as if he was seeing that night over again right before his eyes. Before Alison realized what she was doing, she had rested her hand over top her brother's. Charles flinched a little at the soft touch, but he looked up at her and managed to give her a small smile.

"She surprised up both that night on the roof," Charles said. "But it was too late to do anything, Bethany pushed her before I could think. I've never seen that look in her eye before."

"Hey, Charlie, it wasn't your fault," Jason told his brother. "Bethany killed Mrs. Cavanaugh, not you."

Charles shook his head, his hand scratching at the back of his head. This was obviously something he had wrestled with for a long time. "I should seen what was going on with her. If I had just known how deep her obsession was, I could've prevented it, all of it." he said.

"No, Charles-"

"Alison, stop, I started all this," Charles interrupted her, adamantly. "When I was in Radley, I would always talk about you, you too, Jason. When mom would come to visit, she would tell me everything you've been doing, sometimes she would have pictures. Of course, I was sad that I couldn't be there to watch you grow up, but I knew I had to stay away to keep you safe. Little did I know, the Shadow Man would become the least of my worries."

"What do you mean?" Alison asked him.

"It was Bethany who sent you the original A text messages, Ali," Charles admitted. "And the night you disappeared was when I found out what she'd been up to. You were only a means to an end, though. What Bethany really wanted was me, but she couldn't have me when I was too focused on you."

"I don't understand, Mona was A..."

Charles nodded, "Yes, Mona taunted and threatened your friends, but when she came to Radley, she and Bethany started talking. But once Bethany had what she needed, she dropped Mona like a wet cloth. The only person she's ever really cared about is me."

"Charles," Alison started, licking her lips. She wasn't sure how much more her brain could take. "Who was in the grave?"

A few minutes passed before he said anything, and even when it looked like he was going to, Charles suddenly clutched his head and growled out something unintelligible. He started mumbling, almost like he was talking to someone, but Alison couldn't understand what he was saying. Though, there were a few words she could make out and piece together that sounded like, _She will believe me_. His mumbling grew quiet and then, after a moment, Charles looked up at her.

"It was a girl named Sara Harvey," Charles said. "I don't know if she was there by accident or if Bethany had something to do with it, but she was dressed just like Bethany, just like you."

Alison shivered, just thinking of two other girls wearing the same clothes as her that night this whole nightmare started.

"I didn't mean it," Charles continued. "I didn't mean to hurt her. It was dark, and I just swung. She didn't even cry out. Alison, you have to believe me, I never wanted to hurt anyone else, I only wanted to stop Bethany."

"I wanted to turn myself in, but mom wouldn't hear of it," Charles was still talking. "She buried that girl and you and covered up all evidence that Bethany and I were ever there. She brought us to a facility in New York. I never looked at either one of them the same way again."

"Why didn't you go to the police when Bethany came back? Stop this whole thing?" Alison questioned her brother.

Charles' answer was simple. "Fear," he said. "If I went to the police and told them about Bethany, then everything that I had done would've been found out too. At least, that's what _he_ always told me. I wasn't just staying with Bethany to keep her in check, I stayed with her to keep _him_ away."

Alison's heart squeezed suddenly just then at just how damaged her brother was. He'd been suffering this whole time, with no one to turn to except a crazy girl. There was a sudden squeak against the linoleum floor, causing Alison to jump, as Jason stood up from his chair and paced over to the door. Both Alison and Charles watched their brother, his face set in a grim, determined expression.

"There's so much we didn't know," Jason muttered, mainly to himself, but the others still heard him. The next time he spoke, it was louder. "This isn't right, you have to tell the police what you told us. They might go easy on you, maybe help get you the help you need?"

Charles shook his head, but not because he thought it wouldn't work. "Don't worry about me," he said, and before either one of them could say anything, he continued, "Jason, you have to protect our sister, now more than ever. Bethany will not be happy that I turned myself in. In her mind, it's just one more obstacle between us. She's going to come for you, Ali, it's only a matter of time."

Alison tried to swallow past the hard lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. Her heart thudded against her ribcage as she looked at Jason, who looked back at her with the same fearful expression on his face. The clock on the wall seemed to have grown louder, the hands ticking off each passing second and Alison had never felt as scared as she did in that moment.

* * *

 **A/N:** What do you think? So many secrets revealed... Now, the only question is, what's going to happen next? Please review and I will post the next chapter faster! :)


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